Extending knowledge of illegitimate tasks: Student satisfaction, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion

Illegitimate tasks represent assignments that individuals feels they should not have to do because they are not appropriate given their role. The primary aim of this study was to broaden existing knowledge on illegitimate tasks beyond workplace contexts by exploring whether this stressor was also negatively related to psychological well-being in higher education students. This study examined illegitimate tasks in relation to student satisfaction, anxiety, and emotional exhaustion in a college student setting through the demand-control-support framework. Reports from 473 college students indicated that illegitimate tasks may be important in student populations, as they were linked to student satisfaction and both psychological strain markers. In addition, perceptions of control over how to complete illegitimate tasks did not moderate relationships between illegitimate tasks and these outcomes, but perceptions of instructor support did. Specifically, instructor support buffered the negative effects of illegitimate tasks on anxiety and emotional exhaustion, such that the relationship between perceived task illegitimacy and both outcomes was less pronounced for students perceiving higher levels of support. However, an unexpected pattern emerged for the moderating effect of instructor support such that satisfaction deteriorated with high support, which underscores the need to further explore the function of social support in relation to illegitimate tasks.