What To Do First? A Demand-ability Fit Perspective on Task Motivation and Carryover Effects

Abstract

In the course of a workday, employees attend to a variety of distinct tasks. Considering that motivation may vary from one task to the next on a daily basis, our understanding of motivation at work is incomplete without understanding (1) how demand-ability fit affects motivation at the task, instead of job, level and (2) how motivation on previous tasks carries over into subsequent tasks. Drawing on research in task complexity and situational motivation theories, we develop a theoretical model that examines the moderating effects of intrinsic motivation on a previous task on the relationship between characteristics of a later task and task intrinsic motivation, which in turn influence task performance and task engagement for the later task, and end-of-day recovery. We find that when previous levels of task motivation are higher, the positive effects of congruence between task complexity demand and ability on later task motivation will be stronger (i.e., carryover effect); nevertheless, the negative effects of any incongruence between task complexity demand and ability on later task motivation will also be stronger (i.e., contrast effect). In addition, intrinsic motivation for the later task is positively associated with task performance, task engagement, and recovery. The implications for theory and research on dynamic motivation and task transitions are discussed.