Effect of time on worker outcomes.

This study explores the role of trait self-control in individuals’ changes in performance and well-being when working from home (WFH). In a three-wave longitudinal study with UK workers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we find that low self-control workers experienced a significant positive adjustment to WFH over time: The number of reported work distractions decreased, and self-assessed performance increased over the period of four months. In contrast, high self-control individuals did not show a similar upward trajectory. Despite the positive adjustment of low self-control individuals over time, on average, self-control was still positively associated with performance and negatively associated with work distractions. However, trait self-control was not consistently associated with changes in well-being. These findings provide a more nuanced view on trait self-control, suggesting that low self-control individuals can improve initial performance over time when working from home.

本研究探讨了特质自我控制（trait self-control）在个体居家办公（work from home, WFH）期间的绩效与幸福感变化中所发挥的作用。本研究针对新冠疫情（COVID-19 pandemic）期间的英国职场人群开展了三波纵向追踪研究，结果显示：自我控制水平较低的员工随时间推移在居家办公模式下实现了显著的正向适应——其报告的工作干扰数量逐步减少，自我评估绩效在四个月的研究周期内呈上升趋势。与之形成鲜明对比的是，自我控制水平较高的个体并未呈现出类似的上升轨迹。尽管低自我控制水平的个体随时间推移实现了正向适应，但总体而言，特质自我控制仍与绩效呈正相关，与工作干扰呈负相关。不过，特质自我控制与幸福感的变化并未呈现出一致的关联。本研究结果为特质自我控制提供了更为精细入微的视角，表明低自我控制水平的个体在居家办公过程中，其初始绩效可随时间推移得到提升。