Abstract: Amid the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, slowing economic growth, and the widespread use of the Internet, multitasking has become a prevalent feature of the modern workplace. While previous studies have examined how multitasking affects the task-related behaviors of multitaskers, they have largely overlooked its impact on the social behaviors of multitaskers and their significant others (e.g., coworkers), such as organizational citizenship behaviors. This study focuses on the mechanisms through which multitasking influences social behavior and comprises two main components. First, it aims to construct a process-oriented dimensional structure of multitasking and develop a corresponding measurement tool (Study 1). Second, it seeks to explore the mechanisms through which multitasking affects the social behaviors of both the multitaskers themselves and their significant others (Study 2 and 3). Through these three studies, we aim to broaden the understanding of the key consequences of multitasking and its range of influence, thereby offering more in-depth and timely insights for relevant management practices.

Key words: multitasking, significant others, social behavior, mechanisms of influences