The Challenging and Hindering Potential of Time Pressure: Qualitative Job Demands as Suppressor Variables

This study aims at resolving the inconsistent findings regarding the effects of time pressure on work engagement and personal resources by considering time pressure's qualitative sources. Specifically, using the notion of statistical suppression, we argue that qualitative challenge and hindrance demands operate as suppressor variables and thus determine whether time pressure itself exerts a challenging or hindering potential. To test our assumptions, we conducted a daily diary study over the course of one workweek in a sample of 396 employees. We tested our hypotheses at the day-level. Results of multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that when controlling for qualitative challenge demands, time pressure positively related to exhaustion, but negatively related to work engagement and self-esteem. Suppression was significant. In contrast, when controlling for qualitative hindrance demands, time pressure was unrelated to work engagement, negatively related to self-esteem, and positively related to exhaustion, whereby qualitative hindrance demands did not act as a suppressor variable at the day-level. Additional analyses revealed that qualitative challenge and hindrance demands operated as suppressor variables at the person-level. In summary, when qualitative challenge demands were controlled for, time pressure operated as a hindrance demand. Yet, when qualitative hindrance demands were controlled for, time pressure operated as a challenge demand at the person-level. Our findings outline the need to account for the quality of work when assessing time pressure's effects and further highlight the relevance of suppressor variables within the field of occupational health psychology.