Delay of Gratification in Predicting Job Performance in New Employees: A Time-Varying Process and the Moderating Role of Perceived Informational Justice

Our study profiles a varying process of the relationship between delay of gratification (DG) and job performance over time and examines the moderating role of perceived organisational justice in the DG-job performance relationship. Employees' ability to delay gratification was measured during their job interviews (Time 1). When they had worked for 3 months (Time 2), their job performance was rated by their supervisors. When they had worked for 5 months (Time 3), their perception of perceived informational justice was measured. Their job performance was rated again by their supervisors at 6 months (Time 4). The results showed that DG could directly predict new employees' short-term (3-month) job performance but not their longer-term (6-month) job performance. Moreover, perceived informational justice moderated the relationship between DG and 6-month job performance.