Mired in tasks: how daily workplace multitasking shapes employee service innovation behavior

Abstract

Purpose

Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this paper aims to propose that daily multitasking increases employees’ daily role pressure, ultimately hindering their service innovation behavior. Furthermore, we suggest that trait mindfulness may mitigate this negative impact.

Design/methodology/approach

To empirically test the study hypotheses, this paper conducted a multilevel diary field study, collecting data from 64 employees over 10 working days to comprehensively validate the theoretical model.

Findings

The findings indicate that daily multitasking indirectly reduces daily service innovation behavior by increasing employee role pressure. Notably, this indirect effect is more pronounced among employees with lower trait mindfulness, while it is less significant for those with higher trait mindfulness.

Practical implications

Hotels should manage multitasking, reduce employee stress and promote service innovation by optimizing task allocation and redesigning work processes. Additionally, hotel management should adopt a multifaceted and innovative approach to foster mindfulness traits.

Originality/value

This study contributes to the literature on multitasking and innovation by examining how and when daily multitasking influences employee service innovation behavior.

Citation

Xie, P. and Tian, F.F. (2024), "Mired in tasks: how daily workplace multitasking shapes employee service innovation behavior", International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-04-2024-0533