copyrightSteidle, AnnaSenf, Konrad2026-03-262026-03-262023https://hohpublica.uni-hohenheim.de/handle/123456789/1874910.60848/13678The present dissertation investigates job performance within the discrete level of work context. My co-authors and I explore our research questions in relation to stressors that hinder optimal performance and resources that aid recovery or buffer negative effects. The dissertation presents four empirical manuscripts employing real-life, multi-method, multi-situation, and multi-time designs that provide insights into several key questions surrounding the immediate context of the execution of job tasks. Self-control is a core human trait. There is compelling evidence from social psychology that the number of temptations is more important than the strength of control effort in the pursuit of goals, a perspective that is still rare within organizational research. For task context, my co-author and I use experience-sampling methodology (3,542 situations; N = 165) alongside day-level (677 evenings; n = 123) and retrospective (n = 128) measurements studying people at work to compare the effects of three disruptive impulses (spontaneous urges, motivational resistance, and distractions) on mental exhaustion and subjective performance. In addition, we examine how trait-level self-control is associated with positive outcomes. Further, we investigate the role of state mindfulness in preventing the enactment of disruptive impulses, focusing on present-moment attention and non-judgmental acceptance. Together, these investigations build the case for the use of a broader perspective that includes the activation phase (as opposed to the exertion phase) of self-control in organizational research. The dissertation also extends current scholarship on these approaches by differentiating between types of disruptive impulses, enabling analyses of performance on the within-person level, examining the effects of trait self-control on within-person self-control at work, and investigating the direct effects and potential moderating role of state mindfulness. For physical context, the question of whether room atmosphere can be an alternative to objective and subjective measures of the physical environment (with the prospect of establishing atmosphere as a complementary set of guiding principles in room selection and design) hinges on its link with outcomes relevant to job performance. My co-authors and I used two studies to examine the effects of the atmospheric factors of detachment, tenseness, and liveliness on student performance, recovery behaviour, and vigour. Study 1 (N = 91) examined the hypothesised role of atmosphere as a mediator of the effects of supportive room elements using a study design that captured the beginning (i.e., predictors) and end (i.e., dependent variables) of multiple activities, with the addition of day-level surveys. Study 2 tested a replication of the key direct effects of atmospheric factors in a cross-sectional study of a separate student sample (N = 88). Finally, I present a pre-registered study that examined two ways in which personality traits may override potential effects: (1) personality traits may affect how we perceive atmospheric factors; (2) personality traits may drive the choice or design of workspaces or be more dominant in predicting the outcomes of interest. In a mixed-sample online study (N = 551), participants rated the pictures of multiple potential workspaces and reported retrospective experiences in real rooms. Beyond the key associations, I also report potentially insightful exploratory data. My findings suggest that personality traits have a limited but significant role in the perception of atmosphere and its effects on performance and well-being, without completely overriding the distinct impacts of physical context. Overall, the findings from both manuscripts have implications for research on how to approach the selection and design of workspaces, which is particularly relevant in light of the growing tendencies for work (whether productive, academic, or otherwise) to be conducted at home or in non-traditional settings (e.g., co-working spaces). Taken together, the findings suggest that task and physical context significantly influence the interaction between individuals and the systems they use and operate in, thereby impacting their performance and well-being. Understanding these contexts is thus important to both conceive of interventions harnessing the effects of these contexts as well as support the implementation of other interventions.eng150DoctoralThesis1967210578