Why should I do it? Examining the dual impact of illegitimate tasks on employee outcomes.

Background: Illegitimate tasks are work assignments perceived as unreasonable or unnecessary. Such tasks fall outside the boundaries of duties considered appropriate for a given professional role. Illegitimate tasks are a widespread issue in the health care sector. Literature has largely emphasized...

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Publicado en:Health Care Management Review Vol. 51; no. 1; pp. 43 - 54
Autores principales: Siddiqui, Eram Fatima, Sharma, Dheeraj, Ghosh, Koustab
Formato: research tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Jan-Mar2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jan-Mar2026
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      pub: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
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        atl: Why should I do it? Examining the dual impact of illegitimate tasks on employee outcomes.
      aug:
        au:
          Siddiqui, Eram Fatima
          Sharma, Dheeraj
          Ghosh, Koustab
        affil: Eram Fatima Siddiqui, is a PhD Scholar, Department of Organizational Behavior & Human Resource Management, Indian Institute of Management, Rohtak, India..
      sug:
        subj:
          Task Performance and Analysis India
          Stress, Occupational
          Work Environment
          Work Assignments
          Employee Attitudes
          Health Care Industry
          Nurse Attitudes
          Personnel Turnover
          Hardiness
          Human
          Surveys
          Burnout, Professional
          Coping
          Workload
          India
          Professional Development
          Stress Management
          Field Studies
          Registered Nurses Psychosocial Factors
          Convenience Sample
          Male
          Female
          Adult
          Scales
          Professional Autonomy
          Descriptive Statistics
          Confidence Intervals
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Background: Illegitimate tasks are work assignments perceived as unreasonable or unnecessary. Such tasks fall outside the boundaries of duties considered appropriate for a given professional role. Illegitimate tasks are a widespread issue in the health care sector. Literature has largely emphasized the negative outcomes of illegitimate tasks. However, we suggest that the consequences of illegitimate tasks might not always be uniformly negative but could be paradoxical, depending upon the appraisal mechanisms. Purposes: Using the lens of the transactional model of stress and coping, we suggest that when individuals appraise illegitimate tasks as challenges, it is associated with positive outcomes like employee resilience. However, if they appraise illegitimate tasks as hindrances, it is associated with negative outcomes like the intention to quit. Method: The study was conducted using a time-lagged survey of 207 nurses in the health care sector in India, where illegitimate tasks are highly prominent. Results: Illegitimate tasks were positively associated with challenge and hindrance appraisals. The appraisal mechanisms mediated the relationship between illegitimate tasks and employee outcomes (employee resilience and intention to quit). Individuals with higher calling orientation were less likely to perceive illegitimate tasks as hindrances. Practice Implications: Organizations should ensure that illegitimate tasks are appraised as challenges rather than hindrances through workload and stress management techniques.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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