Title: Task assignments matter: the relationship between illegitimate tasks, work engagement and silence

Authors: Ömer Erdem Koçak; Zeynep Merve Ünal

Addresses: Istanbul Medipol University, Göztepe Mah. Atatürk Cad. No. 40/16, 34815 Beykoz, İstanbul, Turkey ' Kurtyeri Kumcağız Caddesi. 113 Yalı Sitesi Kandıra/Kocaeli, Turkey

Abstract: This study aims to investigate whether assigning employees to unnecessary or unreasonable tasks can harm employee motivation. To account for the full range of motivation, we examined how illegitimate tasks affect work engagement and employee silence. We also embraced interactional justice to propose a possible underlying mechanism. Online questionnaires were used to collect data from 250 white-collar employees from various industries, of which 55.2% were males and mean age was 33.64 (s.d. = 11.56). We used structural equation modelling to analyse the data. Illegitimate tasks were associated with lower work engagement and higher employee silence, as expected. The relationship between illegitimate tasks and work engagement was fully mediated by interactional justice while the relationship between employee silence and illegitimate tasks were partially mediated. These findings emphasise the negative impact of inappropriate tasks on employee motivation. This study shows that illegitimate tasks are crucial determinants of employee motivation of both approach and avoidance in Turkish work context.

Keywords: stress; illegitimate tasks; work engagement; employee silence; interactional justice; organisational justice; motivation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJWOE.2022.127656

International Journal of Work Organisation and Emotion, 2022 Vol.13 No.4, pp.330 - 349

Received: 29 Mar 2022
Accepted: 07 Aug 2022
Published online: 13 Dec 2022 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article