Date of Award
Spring 6-14-2019
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Goran Kuljanin, PhD
Second Advisor
Joseph R. Ferrari, PhD
Abstract
Psychological home is a relatively new topic within the field of psychology, defined as a person’s need to self-identify with a physical environment. Clutter, defined as the over-accumulation of material items, is even less studied. Previous research has shown that clutter in the home may negatively influence a person’s well-being, but this tendency has not been investigated in workplace settings (Crum & Ferrari, 2019a; Crum & Ferrari, 2019b; Roster, Ferrari & Jurkat, 2016). Within workplace research, there is a construct called work-related well-being (Narainsamy & Van Der Westhuizen, 2013; Rothman, 2008), consisting of job satisfaction, employee engagement, burnout, and occupational stress. Previous research has shown that job-related tension may negatively impact job satisfaction (Bateman & Strasser, 1983). The present study will address whether clutter in the office negatively impacts work-place well-being, using a crowd-sourced sample of adults (n = 290) who work full-time within the United States in office and home settings. It was hypothesized that office clutter would negatively impact job satisfaction and employee engagement, positively impact emotional exhaustion and occupational stress, and job-related tension was expected to moderate the relationship between office clutter and job satisfaction. Multiple linear regressions and a moderated regression were used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. This present study benefited both scientists and practitioners by helping them understand the possible benefits of companies initiating “clean desk policies” and how personal materials and spending habits may reflect workplace behaviors or impact work outcomes.
Recommended Citation
Dao, Trina N., "Office Clutter and Its Influence: Assessing Engagement, Satisfaction, Tension, Stress, and Emotional Exhaustion" (2019). College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations. 294.
https://via.library.depaul.edu/csh_etd/294
SLP Collection
no