Now You're in Big Trouble! Meeting Lateness, Anger, and Punishment
Advisor Information
Joseph Allen
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
4-3-2016 10:45 AM
End Date
4-3-2016 12:15 PM
Abstract
Individual lateness to workplace meetings is common across organizations and previous research indicates that people react negatively when someone is late. This study extends this line of research by examining the mechanisms through which individuals generate negative reactions to late meeting arrivals, if at all. We applied an attribution theory of interpersonal behavior to lateness to workplace meetings in an experimental context. Participants read 1 of 4 experimental vignettes that described someone arriving late to a meeting (5 or 15 mins late) and then giving an excuse (“I forgot when the meeting was supposed to start,” or “My boss assigned me an urgent task that I had to complete before coming to the meeting,”), and then rated their anger and desire to punish the person who arrived late. Using a moderated mediation model, we found that anger mediated the effect of causal controllability on punishment desire, and that lateness moderated this effect, such that the relationship was stronger when lateness was high compared to low. These results indicate that meeting lateness may negatively affect interpersonal relationships at work and career advancement, and, as such, this study provides additional evidence that managers should encourage employees to arrive punctually to meetings.
Now You're in Big Trouble! Meeting Lateness, Anger, and Punishment
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Individual lateness to workplace meetings is common across organizations and previous research indicates that people react negatively when someone is late. This study extends this line of research by examining the mechanisms through which individuals generate negative reactions to late meeting arrivals, if at all. We applied an attribution theory of interpersonal behavior to lateness to workplace meetings in an experimental context. Participants read 1 of 4 experimental vignettes that described someone arriving late to a meeting (5 or 15 mins late) and then giving an excuse (“I forgot when the meeting was supposed to start,” or “My boss assigned me an urgent task that I had to complete before coming to the meeting,”), and then rated their anger and desire to punish the person who arrived late. Using a moderated mediation model, we found that anger mediated the effect of causal controllability on punishment desire, and that lateness moderated this effect, such that the relationship was stronger when lateness was high compared to low. These results indicate that meeting lateness may negatively affect interpersonal relationships at work and career advancement, and, as such, this study provides additional evidence that managers should encourage employees to arrive punctually to meetings.