Idle time at work is a phase of involuntary downtime during which employees experience that they cannot carry out their work tasks. In contrast to breaks, interruptions, procrastination, or withdrawal behavior, employees cannot work because of the absence of work-related tasks. Based on action regulation theory, we develop an integrative conceptual model on the antecedents and consequences of the subjective experience of idle time. We propose that work constraints (i.e., regulation problems) have negative effects on occupational well-being and task performance, and that these effects are mediated by subjective idle time. The strength of these effects is further assumed to be influenced by individuals’ use of proactive (i.e., prevention) and adaptive (i.e., coping) strategies. Results of a supplemental qualitative study, for which we interviewed 20 employees from different occupations, provided preliminary support for the propositions. Finally, we develop theory on how individual, situational, and organizational characteristics may influence the proposed effects on and of idle time. Overall, this conceptual development paper contributes to a better theoretical understanding of idle time at work by extending its definition and applying action regulation theory to this practically important phenomenon.

工作空闲时间是非自愿停机的一个阶段，在此期间员工会体验到他们无法执行工作任务。与休息、中断、拖延或退缩行为相反，员工因为没有与工作相关的任务而无法工作。基于行为调节理论，我们开发了一个关于空闲时间主观体验的前因和后果的综合概念模型。我们提出工作限制（即监管问题）对职业幸福感和任务绩效有负面影响，并且这些影响是由主观空闲时间调节的。进一步假设这些影响的强度受个人使用主动（即预防）和适应性（即应对）策略的影响。补充定性研究的结果，为此，我们采访了来自不同职业的 20 名员工，为这些命题提供了初步支持。最后，我们发展了关于个人、情境和组织特征如何影响空闲时间和空闲时间的拟议影响的理论。总体而言，这篇概念发展论文通过扩展其定义并将行为调节理论应用于这一实际重要的现象，有助于更好地理解工作空闲时间。