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Smartphone use and work–home interference: The moderating role of social norms and employee work engagement
Abstract
Work in our modern society that is facilitated by communication technology involves connectivity, immediacy, and a blurring of boundaries between work and non‐work domains. This 4‐day quantitative diary study ( N = 100 employees, N = 367–400 data points) aims to shed light on the relationship between daily smartphone use and daily work–home interference ( WHI ). Two potential moderators of this relationship are examined: (1) (strong) social norms represented by the influence of colleagues and supervisors regarding availability after work hours and (2) work engagement. Overall, the results of multilevel analyses were in line with the hypotheses. The findings suggest that supervisors should be clear about their expectations regarding smartphone use in private hours in that they should not expect employees to be always available. In addition we conclude that engaged workers can prevent work from interfering too much with their private lives, even when they use their smartphones during evening hours.
Practitioner points
Employees working in an ‘always‐on’ culture experience more WHI.
Important role models, such as supervisors, should be aware that the emails they send during evening hours and weekends also have recipients.
Supervisors should be careful in creating expectations regarding availability when they decide to provide smartphones to their employees.
... The review process yielded 23 studies for inclusion (Table 1 and S2 Table), that were conducted in the USA [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44], the Netherlands [23,[45][46][47], South Korea [48], Belgium [49], Canada [33,50], the UK [51], Malaysia [52], Sri Lanka [53], and South Africa [54][55][56]. One study [57] did not explicitly report the study location (although they recruited employees from a Scandinavian company). ...
... Across the included studies, a variety of research designs were employed: diary-entry (n = 4) [23,[45][46][47], repeated measures (n = 1) [38], cross-sectional (n = 17) [33,37,[39][40][41][42][43][44][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56] and longitudinal (n = 1) [57] designs. Data in all the studies were collected using convenience sampling. ...
... Of the 23 included studies, 13 [23,37,38,[41][42][43][45][46][47]49,51,52,57] clearly operationalised and measured the impact of work-related smartphone use during off-job hours. Two studies [39,50] examined the use of mobile devices (a smartphone or an internet-enabled tablet) for work-related purposes during off-job hours; one study [48] explored the impact of distinct attributes of smartphone use for work (namely, work overload, autonomy, flexibility, and productivity); and seven studies [33,40,44,[53][54][55][56] examined the impact of work-related use of information and communication technology (ICT) devices outside working hours. ...
Over recent decades the use of smartphones for work purposes has burgeoned both within and beyond working hours. The aim of the study was to conduct a scoping review to explore the association between the use of smartphone technology for work purposes in off-job hours with employees’ self-reported work-life conflict. Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework was adopted. Searches were conducted in PsycINFO, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), Academic Search Complete, ProQuest Central, Web of Science, ProQuest Theses, Emerald, Business Source Complete, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Google Scholar. Articles were eligible that reported on a sample of workers, were published in English between 1st January 2012 and 29th November 2023. The review was conducted and reported using a quality assessment checklist and PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews). Data charting and synthesis was undertaken narratively, using the framework approach and thematic analysis. Twenty-three studies were identified, conducted in nine countries. Nineteen studies (83%) showed a significant association between increased use of smartphone for work purposes in off job-hours and increased work-life conflict, with small-to-moderate effect sizes. This relationship was mediated by psychological detachment from work, and communication about family demands with one’s supervisor. Moderators either strengthened or attenuated the relationship between use of smartphone for work purposes in off job-hours and increased work-life conflict. Findings suggest that smartphone use during off-job hours is likely to impact negatively on work-life conflict, which has implications for employee wellbeing. Managers could play a key role in clarifying expectations about after-hours availability, reducing job pressure, advocating psychological detachment from work in off-job hours where it is appropriate, and creating a workplace culture where communication about the interplay between work and home life is encouraged. The protocol is registered on the Open Science Framework (OSF) (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/WFZU6).
... Previous research in cognitive psychology [3,4,[6][7][8][9], which focused on the dynamics of mental effort between labor and leisure, primarily used experience-sampling studies. However, these approaches often fell short of capturing the complex interplay of smartphone use across different stages of mental engagement. ...
... In the method to describe WMA, we acknowledge the pervasive use of smartphones in modern-day work [7,10], particularly among health care professionals who heavily rely on these devices for their daily tasks. Hence, we used a machine learning model for WMA by associating human-smartphone interaction patterns with the context of the workplace. ...
... Hence, we used a machine learning model for WMA by associating human-smartphone interaction patterns with the context of the workplace. The introduction of smartphones has significantly transformed people's lives, blurring the boundaries between work and private life [7,10]. While Dora et al [10] examined the smartphone use characteristics of employees, distinguishing work-related use at home from private use at work, our machine learning approach offers a more personalized distinction based on human-smartphone interaction patterns. ...
Background
Human biological rhythms are commonly assessed through physical activity (PA) measurement, but mental activity may offer a more substantial reflection of human biological rhythms.
Objective
This study proposes a novel approach based on human-smartphone interaction to compute mental activity, encompassing general mental activity (GMA) and working mental activity (WMA).
Methods
A total of 24 health care professionals participated, wearing wrist actigraphy devices and using the “Staff Hours” app for more than 457 person-days, including 332 workdays and 125 nonworkdays. PA was measured using actigraphy, while GMA and WMA were assessed based on patterns of smartphone interactions. To model WMA, machine learning techniques such as extreme gradient boosting and convolutional neural networks were applied, using human-smartphone interaction patterns and GPS-defined work hours. The data were organized by date and divided into person-days, with an 80:20 split for training and testing data sets to minimize overfitting and maximize model robustness. The study also adopted the M10 metric to quantify daily activity levels by calculating the average acceleration during the 10-hour period of highest activity each day, which facilitated the assessment of the interrelations between PA, GMA, and WMA and sleep indicators. Phase differences, such as those between PA and GMA, were defined using a second-order Butterworth filter and Hilbert transform to extract and calculate circadian rhythms and instantaneous phases. This calculation involved subtracting the phase of the reference signal from that of the target signal and averaging these differences to provide a stable and clear measure of the phase relationship between the signals. Additionally, multilevel modeling explored associations between sleep indicators (total sleep time, midpoint of sleep) and next-day activity levels, accounting for the data’s nested structure.
Results
Significant differences in activity levels were noted between workdays and nonworkdays, with WMA occurring approximately 1.08 hours earlier than PA during workdays (P<.001). Conversely, GMA was observed to commence about 1.22 hours later than PA (P<.001). Furthermore, a significant negative correlation was identified between the activity level of WMA and the previous night’s midpoint of sleep (β=–0.263, P<.001), indicating that later bedtimes and wake times were linked to reduced activity levels in WMA the following day. However, there was no significant correlation between WMA’s activity levels and total sleep time. Similarly, no significant correlations were found between the activity levels of PA and GMA and sleep indicators from the previous night.
Conclusions
This study significantly advances the understanding of human biological rhythms by developing and highlighting GMA and WMA as key indicators, derived from human-smartphone interactions. These findings offer novel insights into how mental activities, alongside PA, are intricately linked to sleep patterns, emphasizing the potential of GMA and WMA in behavioral and health studies.
... Therefore, the current social role influences the actions of a user and determines the kind of information a user might prefer to receive or delay momentarily. However, roles typically belong to a specific life-domain and users might experience conflicts when role responsibilities from different domains are incompatible [5]. ...
... As roles typically belong to a specific life-domain, individuals might experience conflicts when role responsibilities from different domains are incompatible. In fact, the relation of smartphone usage and role conflicts has already been investigated in the field of psychology [4,5]. It is well understood, that interruptions caused by conflicting social roles (e.g. ...
Determining and identifying opportune moments for interruptions is a challenging task in Ubiquitous Computing and Human-Computer-Interaction. The current state-of-the-art approaches do this by identifying breakpoints either in user tasks, activities or by processing social relationships and contents of interruptions. However, from a psychological perspective, not all of these breakpoints represent opportune moments for interruptions. In this paper, we propose a new concept in the field of interruptibility. The concept is based on role theory and psychological interruption research. In particular, we argue that social roles which define sets of norms, expectations, rules and behaviours can provide useful information about the user's current context that can be used to enhance interruption management systems. Based on this concept, we propose a prototype system architecture that uses social roles to detect opportune moments for interruptions.
... According to the boundary theory, when work and family times overlap due to the inability of the faculty staff to specify and balance work time and downtime, they lose the ability to achieve a work-life balance [8,9]. Similarly, a growing body of empirical research related to this has revealed a link between increased work-to-family conflict (WFC) and everyday mobile internet usage for work-related tasks outside standard working hours [10]. ...
... Prior studies on WRMIU have emphasized how it has significantly altered peoples' daily lives and more especially, how it has blurred the boundaries between work and people's personal lives [10,52,68]. The current study strives to add to previous related research by highlighting the effect of WRMIU as causing FWC and a negative impact on QoL in the faculty community considering the role of OJC in regulating off-job time and faculty recovering after work hours in Egyptian tourism and hotel faculties as an example of a developing country. ...
The unexpected outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented challenges to various aspects of society, including education and work practices. Although tremendous progress has been achieved in reducing the severe impact of COVID-19 on education, its repercussions are still apparent in behaviours connected to the workplace and people's views of their general quality of life (QOL). In this research paper, we investigate the relationship between work-related mobile internet usage during off-job time and quality of life considering the mediating effect of work-family conflict and the moderating effect of off-job control. Data were collected from 341 faculty members and the obtained data was analyzed by Smart PLS structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using a cross-sectional research design. The study findings reveal that both work-related smartphone use during off-job hours and work-family conflict significantly and negatively impact the quality of life of faculty members. Moreover, the study identified that individuals with greater perceived off-job control demonstrated better quality of life outcomes despite the challenges posed by work-related smartphone use. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of the implications of COVID-19 on work practices and personal well-being. Given the growing reliance on smartphones and digital connectivity in the post-pandemic era, it underscores the importance of recognizing the boundaries between work and personal life. Additionally, it highlights the need for employers and policymakers to establish policies and interventions that promote off-job control enabling individuals to disengage from work-related demands during non-work hours effectively.
... Prior research focusing solely on the use of smart phone technology (Derks et al., 2015), has linked the in uence of social norms on increased pressure to the boundary theory (Kreiner et al., 2009). The theory suggests that individuals engage effort in constructing and maintaining personal boundaries including a home-work border. ...
... First, the study did not directly monitor email engagement behaviour, instead focusing on the collection of self-report measures at one occasion. Although prior research has accomplished the measurement of direct behaviour using diary entry methods (Derks et al., 2015), given the current sample size the chosen methodology was deemed appropriate in order to gather a large amount of responses. The current study did also not measure existing workplace strategies aimed at reducing WHI or overload, future research could seek to understand if strategies of this nature exist to assess the moderating impact these have on out of hours email engagement. ...
Work-related stress is a key challenge for economies globally, with far-reaching individual, organisational and societal consequences. One contributor to work-related stress is the blurring of boundaries between work and home domains, known as work-home interference (WHI). A legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic is increased flexible and remote working, which could increase WHI and resultantly work-related stress. A tangible marker of WHI is employee engagement with work emails during leisure time, however very little is known about the prevalence, predictors, and impacts of this behaviour. In a sample of 1229 UK-based employees, we report on social norms and work-place culture around engaging with work emails outside of normal working hours. Additionally, we investigated whether work email importance, email overload and email management tactics were associated with email engagement during leisure time, and whether this type of email engagement was associated with health and productivity, in cross-section. Participants who reported that email was highly important and/or felt overloaded by emails were more likely to engage with work emails during leisure time. Additionally, email engagement in leisure time was associated with poorer physical and psychological health, but not productivity. Our findings have implications for organisational policy and culture around employee email engagement behaviours.
... Building on the above-mentioned hypotheses, we propose a mediation between relationships with managers and cognitive workaholism through pace of work and off-hours working since leadership has previously been associated with off-hours working and workaholism (Molino et al. 2019) and expectations of supervisors may create an urge to work off-hours to meet the norms of the group (Derks et al. 2015). ...
... Simply put, when the organisation is perceived to require off-hours work, this has implications for the extent of work-related thoughts for employees, and this then appears to trigger emotional exhaustion since constant thoughts about work deplete an individual's resource pool. Furthermore, it may be that despite off-hours work, some employees are more capable of psychological detachment, which then reduces emotional exhaustion, as shown by Derks et al. (2015). ...
Using a quantitative methods approach, we examine the organisational drivers of cognitive workaholism and emotional exhaustion amongst a group of employees (N = 187) in a digital workplace based in Berlin, Germany. This study demonstrated that managers could influence cognitive workaholism through the pace of work and an employee’s perceived need to engage in off-hours work. Cognitive workaholism was also found to have a direct impact on emotional exhaustion, as did the relationship with one’s manager. Off-hours work was not found to have a direct impact on emotional exhaustion. Instead, the data suggests that off-hours working hinders an employee’s ability to detach from their work, and therefore higher levels of cognitive workaholism are observed, which then leads to higher levels of emotional exhaustion. This study highlights how management’s distribution of workload can create a situation whereby employees have constant thoughts about work, leading to emotional exhaustion. This is an important topic, given the increasing use of digital technology in modern workplaces. Specifically, off-hours work is easily facilitated through the use of technology, and this study therefore unveils the double-edged sword of technology. Hence, this topic is important for modern organisations seeking to promote sustainable employee workplace wellbeing.
... Volini et al. (2020, p. 5) argue the pandemic "put more hours into the working day, creating exhaustion and burnout and simultaneously exposing the stress that many workers face in balancing professional and personal demands, as personal commitments and roles (such as being a parent or caregiver) could no longer be separated from work. " Working longer, faster and with an 'always-on' work culture, manifested as constantly monitoring work-related information (e.g., via emails and social media), causes feelings of anxiety, insomnia and inefficiency (Salanova et al., 2007;Derks et al., 2015), which we propose acts as a source of frustration. ...
... Further, segmentation norms may also affect the extent to which employees engage in hidden work (Derks et al., 2015). Future research should consider these factors while additionally explore the effects of hidden work on proximal and distal work outcomes, potentially look at the interplay among occupational health outcomes to test the proposed sequence in which they occur (with respect to temporality and the severity of their impact), and continue to focus on outcomes beyond occupational health-related ones, such as multiple layers of performance (task, contextual, creativity etc.). ...
This study examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic over time. Specifically, we derive from the organizational model of frustration to propose and test a model of pandemic-induced hidden work affecting employees’ emotional responses of frustration along with behavioral responses and outcomes with respect to occupational health. We thereby develop a concept of multiple layers of occupational health that spans across stress, satisfaction with work–life balance (SWLB), burnout, subjective well-being, and physical health. Based on a longitudinal web-based survey of 198 working professionals conducted at seven points in time (1,143 data points, with 118 fully completed responses across all time points) for a wide range of industries in 2020, the study tests the proposed relationships using random coefficient modeling. The results show that COVID-19-situation-induced hidden work invokes emotional responses of frustration, which in turn influence outcomes referring to multiple layers of occupational health—positively affecting stress and burnout, and negatively influencing SWLB, subjective well-being, and physical health. Implications for research and practice are discussed.
... Die wahrgenommene ständige Verfügbarkeit scheint sich bei Auszubildenden, die vermehrt mobil arbeiten, entgegen diversen Studien (Derks et al., 2015;Grant et al., 2013;Lautsch et al., 2009;Vartiainen, 2021) nicht signifikant zu verändern. Ein Aspekt, wie das Bedürfnis, über Informationsund Kommunikationstechnik im Homeoffice ständig verfügbar zu sein, um potenziell unklaren Erwartungen der Führungskräfte, der Ausbildenden oder der Kollegschaft gerecht zu werden (Derks et al., 2015), ließen sich anhand des Samples und der verwendeten Drei-Item-Operationalisierung nicht erkennen. ...
... Die wahrgenommene ständige Verfügbarkeit scheint sich bei Auszubildenden, die vermehrt mobil arbeiten, entgegen diversen Studien (Derks et al., 2015;Grant et al., 2013;Lautsch et al., 2009;Vartiainen, 2021) nicht signifikant zu verändern. Ein Aspekt, wie das Bedürfnis, über Informationsund Kommunikationstechnik im Homeoffice ständig verfügbar zu sein, um potenziell unklaren Erwartungen der Führungskräfte, der Ausbildenden oder der Kollegschaft gerecht zu werden (Derks et al., 2015), ließen sich anhand des Samples und der verwendeten Drei-Item-Operationalisierung nicht erkennen. Stattdessen zeigte sich lediglich eine negative Tendenz (-.10), die vermuten lässt, dass die empfundene ständige Verfügbarkeit durch das mobile Arbeiten bei Auszubildenden eher reduziert wird. ...
Durch die aufgetretene COVID-19-Pandemie stieg die Anzahl der Homeoffice nutzenden Erwerbstätigen in Deutschland. Von dieser Entwicklung ist in besonderer Weise auch die Kohorte der Auszubildenden betroffen. Diese ist seit Beginn der Pandemie teilweise vollständig virtuell ins Berufsleben gestartet. In der durchgeführten Studie wurde das JDR-Modell verwendet, um die Einflüsse mobilen Arbeitens auf das psychische Wohlbefinden Auszubildender zu untersuchen. Dabei wurde davon ausgegangen, dass die Intensität mobilen Arbeitens einerseits die Arbeitsressourcen negativ und andererseits die Arbeitsanforderungen positiv beeinflusst. Um die theoretisch abgeleiteten Beziehungen zwischen den Konstrukten zu analysieren, wurde ein Strukturgleichungsmodell spezifiziert. Die zugrunde gelegten Daten ergaben sich aus einer durchgeführten Onlinebefragung (n= 110). Entgegen den Erwartungen liefern die Ergebnisse der Befragung keine Hinweise dafür, dass die Intensität mobilen Arbeitens das psychische Wohlbefinden der Auszubildenden über die Pfade der Arbeitsanforderungen oder der Arbeitsressourcen negativ beeinflusst. Anhand der Studienergebnisse zeigte sich, dass ein besonderer Fokus in der Ausbildungsgestaltung auf den Themen Entgrenzung, Technostress und Lernmöglichkeiten liegen sollte.
... This reduces recovery time and increases the risk of developing health issues. Recent technological developments have allowed work to take place more frequently at home due to smartphones and related technologies (Derks et al., 2015). However, since smartphones provide a mechanism for work to take place at home, this might diminish the worker's recovery time and their life satisfaction (Cecchinato & Cox, 2020;Derks et al., 2016;Jarvenpaa et al., 2005;Mazmanian & Erickson, 2014;Richardson & Thompson, 2012). ...
... A large proportion of the research on work-family conflict either uses general employees or a mix of general employees and managers as the primary sample (Cho et al., 2020;Derks et al., 2015;Gadeyne et al., 2018;Leppäkumpu & Sivunen, 2021;Park et al., 2020;Richardson & Thompson, 2012;Steffensen et al., 2021;van Zoonen et al., 2020). Despite the fact that many managers experience more autonomy and decision latitude over their work schedules than their subordinate workers (Kossek & Lautsch, 2012), studies that focus on managers frequently find that managers experience greater work-family conflict (Boswell & Olson-Buchanan, 2007;Derks et al., 2016;Mazmanian et al., 2013;Moore, 2000;Storch & Juarez-Paz, 2022). ...
... The perceived ease of use and the little mental and physical effort needed to comprehend and use a technology or system are referred to as effort expectation (Salloum et al., 2021). The relationship between effort expectancy and engagement in the context of employee engagement is based on how employees' propensity to use technology is influenced by how simple they perceive it to be to use (Derks et al., 2015). Employee engagement and effort expectancy are related, which emphasizes the significance of creating and deploying userfriendly technologies in the workplace. ...
Businesses now function and engage with technology very differently as a result of the Internet of Things’ (IoT) rapid growth. This study investigates the connection between IoT adoption, the business models used by businesses located in a Jordanian business park, and its effect on employee engagement (EE). This research intends to offer insights into how the incorporation of IoT technology affects EE levels through the moderating role of business model’s mechanisms, in recognition of the critical role that engaged employees play in fostering organizational success. Data were gathered from 68 big companies a range of businesses inside a well-known commercial complex in Jordan using a quantitative approach, which also included questionnaires. Out 265 questionnaires were retrieved, 230 valid for analysis. PLS4 were employed to analyze the data. The results emphasize how closely intertwined IoT integration, components of business models, and employee engagement are. It has been discovered that the alignment of IoT- enabled processes with the business model’s strategies improves operational effectiveness, streamline workflows, and enhance EE. Limitation and future research are also provided.
... The Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) community has consequently become extensively interested in the aspects of digital technology impacting positive and negative wellbeing inside and outside the workplace (Smith et al., 2022). Prior work has, for example, studied the impact of digital communication (Bordi et al., 2018) and information ergonomics (Franssila et al., 2016), email as a source of stress (Barley et al., 2011), smartphone use during work (Derks et al., 2015), how wearable digital activity trackers impact employee well-being (Glance et al., 2016) but also their privacy (Chowdhary et al., 2023) and how different types of employees react to wearable technologies (Mettler & Wulf, 2019). ...
Despite the widely acknowledged importance of well-being, our well-being can regularly be under pressure from external sources. Work is often attributed as a source of stress and dissatisfaction, so, unsurprisingly, extensive efforts are made to measure and improve our well-being in this context. This paper examines opportunities to better design supportive digital solutions through two complementary studies. In the first study, we present a longitudinal assessment of a well-being-focused self-report application deployed in two organizations. Through an analysis of one year of application usage across 219 users, we find both established and novel patterns of application usage and well-being evaluation. While prior work has highlighted substantial dropout rates and daily well-being fluctuations that peak in the morning and early evening, our results highlight that substantial breaks in usage are common, suggesting that users choose to engage with well-being applications mainly when they need them. In the second study, we expand on the topic of well-being reflection at work and the use of technology for this purpose. Through a survey involving 100 participants, we identify current practices in increasing well-being at work, obstacles to sharing and discussing mental well-being states, opportunities for digital well-being solutions and reflections on transparency and communication. Our combined results highlight opportunities for HCI research and practice to address the ongoing challenges of maintaining well-being in today’s work environments.
... Additionally, employees' commuting times are no longer strictly controlled in flexible working. This creates an "always-on" culture where employees feel obligated to be available for work at all times (Derks et al., 2015), thereby leading to work overload (Kähkönen, 2023). Moreover, employees are also easily influenced by various demands from friends and family when they adopting the flexible working at home (Sinclair et al., 2020). ...
The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution has arrived. Thus, exploring the interaction mechanism of flexible working on employees’ quality of work life has a paramount practical significance, considering the new trend in the development of future working patterns. We draw on psychological empowerment theory and boundary theory to delve deeper into the intricate links between flexible working, boundary control, psychological empowerment, and employees’ quality of work life. Two stage survey using data from 232 employees in China and conducted hierarchical regression to analysis our proposed model. The results indicate that flexible working has a positive impact on employees’ quality of work life by enhancing their boundary control and psychological empowerment. This impact is moderated by employees’ different locus of control types. As a result, our study provides valuable perspectives for theoretical research into how flexible working affects employees’ quality of work life. It also suggests relevant management recommendations for organizations and employees.
... Nowadays, smartphones are inseparable from people's personal and professional lives [1][2][3]. The recent development of the multifunctional smartphone and its subsequent global popularity has changed the communication and information landscape; remolded the interests, values, and desires of many users; and triggered concerns around the world about overuse and addiction [4]. ...
Objective
This study aimed to examine longitudinal associations of Type D personality and smartphone addiction, while also exploring the mediating roles of nomophobia and metacognitions about smartphone use.
Methods
Type D Personality Scale-14 (T1), Nomophobia Questionnaire (T2), Metacognitions about Smartphone Use Questionnaire (T2) and Smartphone Addiction Scale Short Version (T2) were applied at two time points. 653 university freshmen (Mage= 18.56, SD = 0.65) from a university in China were surveyed.
Results
(1) Type D personality was significantly and positively correlated with nomophobia, negative metacognition, and smartphone addiction. In contrast, the correlation between Type D personality and positive metacognition did not reach the significant level. (2) Compared with individuals with non-Type D personality, those with Type D personality scored significantly higher on nomophobia, negative metacognition, and smartphone addiction. However, the difference was not significant for positive metacognition. (3) Nomophobia and metacognitions about smartphone use fully mediated the relationship between Type D personality and smartphone addiction. While the mediating effects of nomophobia and negative metacognition were significant, the mediating effect of positive metacognition was not significant.
Conclusions
Type D personality can not only affect smartphone addiction directly but also indirectly through nomophobia and negative metacognition. Therefore, to prevent and intervene in smartphone addiction, we can start from both affect (nomophobia) and metacognition (negative metacognitions about smartphone use).
... Addressing the mental state, (Piszczek & Berg, 2014) and understanding the electronic communications contributes to boundary theory because employees will like a balance between work and personal life. Derks et al. (2015), studied smartphone and work-home interference adopting the boundary theory, workers that are engaged with their job will be able to prevent work from encroaching on personal life. ...
Although the concept of remote working is not new, and it has been in use for a while, billions of people and workplaces were caught in surprise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to full-scale lockdowns people got stuck with their family members. And in a very short time they were expected to set up home-offi ces and continue working. Balancing family relations with daily work schedule was hard for many. Drawing on a sample of instructors, this study investigates how people felt and dealt with it. Homogeneous purposive sampling technique was employed. The authors contacted with people from their network and asked them to fi ll in the online questionnaires. The people contacted also help to reach others in their network and consequently a total of 435 people participated. Most of the sample is comprised of university instructors (44.4%); followed by secondary school (22.8%), primary school (18.6%), and high school teachers (14.3%). We developed a theoretical model based on boundary theory and study the relationships among eWork-Life interferences with technostress and psychological well-being. The results supported our hypotheses and we found that timely IT assistance might decrease the felt technostress. Implications and further study suggestions are made accordingly.
... As a specific organisational practice, WCBA involves assigning tasks to employees or engaging in workplace social behaviour with them through electronic devices outside the working hours and location. Leaders frequently choose to contact their subordinates via electronic communication technologies during off-hours, typically because of pressing requirements (Derks et al., 2015). However, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic (Gallardo-Gallardo and Collings, 2021) and owing to the latest technological evolutions (Whysall et al., 2019), this working connectivity has become a standard (Vaiman et al., 2021). ...
Purpose
Working arrangements’ hybridity has become paramount, particularly after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. A remote working environment has indubitable advantages (e.g. the ability to work from anywhere and at any time). However, such flexibility comes at the cost of being virtually always connected. This duality poses challenges for talent management (TM) in determining who can thrive under these specific conditions and how. This study explores how employees respond to this extended connectivity – namely, work connectivity behaviour after-hours (WCBA) – and its influence on proactive talent behaviour by constructing and testing a theoretical model that differentiates employees’ reactions to this condition.
Design/methodology/approach
This study collected data from 400 mainland Chinese employees using online and offline methods. Owing to the potentially varied effects of working in digital environments on employees, a dual mediation regression model was employed to test the hypotheses.
Findings
Remote and hybrid work and, specifically, the increased connectivity experienced by employees can be a “double-edged sword” in influencing their proactive behaviour (PB). While employees experience increased organisation-based self-esteem, which positively correlates with more intense PB, this prolonged exposure may also cause emotional exhaustion (EE), which has a negative correlation with PB. Jointly considering both mediation effects revealed that WCBA’s total effect on PB remained negative.
Originality/value
This study enriches the debate regarding the development of TM practices specifically designed for remote work. It recommends paying greater attention to how employees react to increased connectivity experienced in remote and hybrid working environments. Increased self-esteem or passive EE are possible elements for identifying employees’ talent potential. The separation between work and after-work is becoming blurred in the digital age, which reduces employees’ motivation and ability to exploit their inner talents. Therefore, organisations must find alternatives to preserve their talent pools. This study enriches theoretical research on WCBA, promoting an in-depth application of the theory of job-demand resources in the digital age.
... Indeed, several empirical studies, have shown that technology-assisted work outside of regular work hours is positively related to work-to-home conflict both on the day-level and the between-person level (Derks et al., 2015;Cho et al., 2020;Gadeyne et al., 2023). This reasoning is further corroborated in a recent meta-analysis by Kühner and colleagues (2023) who found a negative relationship between technology-supported work at home and work-tohome conflict. ...
... In the context of digitalisation (digital-work-life spillover), digital technology has made it easier than ever for work to spillover into our personal lives. This is typically demonstrated by the 'always-on' workplace culture, constant connectivity, and remote work, which transfers attitudes, skills, behaviours, and feelings from the work domain into the individual's non-work domain and vice versa (Hilbrecht & Lero, 2014;Derks et al., 2015). For instance, in a study of how the COVID-19 pandemic affected UK academics' work arrangements and its implications for their work-life balance, Mordi et al. (2023) find that academics in the UK faced problems with increased boundary permeability between work and non-work domains as well as role overlap. ...
The traditional workplace is rapidly changing because of the impact of digital technology, which is transforming how work is designed, performed, and managed. Over the years, overwhelming evidence has revealed that digitalisation has profoundly impacted different aspects of our lives, including how we balance our work and personal lives. Overall, the effect of digitalisation on work-life balance is complex and depends on several factors that shape its usage and outcomes for managing the work and personal domains. However, it is evident that digitalisation may positively and negatively affect work-life balance. Therefore, this chapter aims to investigate the impact of digitalisation on employees’ work-life balance. It discusses how digitalisation has led to enhanced connectivity, availability, efficiency, productivity, and work flexibility (or inflexibility) and control. It has also resulted in the blurring of boundaries between employees’ work and personal lives. The chapter then provides some recommendations for managing the impact of digitalisation on employees’ work-life balance.
... In addition, 13 the use of mobile phones during non-working hours is found to affect the extent to which an individual recovers from fatigue, which in turn negatively affects the individual's family atmosphere. 57 Mothers engaged in professions that demand constant connectivity may often experience problematic mobile phone use, leading to potential social psychological distress such as increased social anxiety. 58 According to the scarcity hypothesis, an individual's time and resources are limited, and in the case of workfamily conflict, mothers may give up some of their family activities, parent-child interactions, or work-related opportunities, thereby generating fatigue, distress, or emotional withdrawal, which may be a pathway through which work-family conflict affects mothers' children. ...
Purpose
The issue of excessive mobile phone use among mothers currently is growing increasingly significant due to the rapid growth of smartphones and other technological items. Given that women are the primary caregivers for preschool-aged children, it is imperative to thoroughly investigate the detrimental impacts of mothers’ problematic mobile phone use on the hyperactive behaviors of their children, as well as the underlying mechanisms.
Methods
In this study, 924 Chinese mothers and their children are surveyed. The study looks into the moderating effects of parenting support in this context as well as the chain mediating roles of mothers’ parent-child interaction disorder and work-family conflict in the effects of mothers’ problematic cell phone use on preschoolers’ hyperactive behaviors. Analysis is conducted on the moderating impact of parental support in this as well.
Results
The results find that boys have significantly higher levels of hyperactive behavior than girls; maternal problematic cell phone use significantly positively predicts preschoolers’ hyperactive behavior; maternal problematic cell phone use could indirectly affect preschoolers’ hyperactive behavior through the chain-mediated effects of work-family conflict and parent-child interaction disorder, and parenting support moderates the predictive effects of parent-child interaction disorder on preschoolers’ hyperactive behavior.
Conclusion
This study reveals potential ways in which mothers’ problematic mobile phone use affects preschoolers’ hyperactivity behaviors in the Chinese context. The findings provide a multidimensional (protective and risk factors) indication of how to reduce the impact of mothers’ problematic mobile phone use on preschoolers’ levels of hyperactivity behaviors, which would contribute to improving children’s mental health. However, this is a cross-sectional study and other factors may also play an important role in this pathway.
... En este orden de ideas, las tecnologías en el contexto laboral pueden impactar de diversas maneras la relación trabajo-familia (Brown y Palvia, 2015;Lutz et al., 2020). Algunols estudios reportan que a mayor uso diario dispositivos tecnológicos, mayor es la interferencia entre estas dos dimensiones (Derks et al., 2015; Vayre y Vonthron 2019). Además, estos dispositivos pueden incrementar la tensión y dependencia a las TI y en consecuencia, pueden convertirse en elementos de distracción que afectan los procesos de socialización con la familia (De Wet et al., 2016), dado que las demandas tecnológicas pueden llevar a que las personas se conecten con el trabajo, por ejemplo, responder correos electrónicos durante el tiempo destinado para compartir con la familia (Salanova et al., 2014). ...
Objective: to analyze the role of work-family balance in technostress and techno-addiction among colombian workers. This objective aligns with the need to study resources that protect workers from emerging psychosocial risks. Method: A non-experimental, cross-sectional study with an associative strategy was conducted, involving 512 participants (326 women and 186 men). A sociodemographic data sheet and RED-Technostress and SWING work-family interaction questionnaires were administered. Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed, and a path model was designed. Results: A significant negative correlation was identified between work-family balance and discomfort (r=-.206, p<.001), compulsive use (r=-.169, p<.000), and excessive use (r=-.233, p<.000). Additionally, the estimated values in the path model indicate relationships between work-family balance and discomfort (r=-.21, p<.001), compulsive use (r=-.17, p<.001), and excessive use of technology (r=-.23, p<.001); these are moderate and inversely proportional, whereas there is no significance with rejection (r=-.02). This means that greater work-family balance results in less discomfort, compulsive use, and excessive use of technology. Conclusions: It is determined that work-family balance serves as a resource that can mitigate psychosocial risks such as technostress and techno-addiction. There is a negative relationship between work-family balance and discomfort from technology use, suggesting that workers who successfully balance their work and family responsibilities may experience less stress and anxiety related to technology use.
... The scale had 17 items and each item is measured on a seven-point Likert scale ranging from 1 ("never") to 7 ("always"). The validity of the UWES has been confirmed in a number of cultures including Europe, Australia, South Africa, United States and Asian countries (Demerouti et al., 2015;Derks et al., 2015;Johnson & Jiang, 2017). ...
This study investigates how human resource practices, specifically focusing on ability, motivation, and opportunity practices, effect employee engagement in the Malaysian context. The research involved surveying 154 employees in the service sector in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Structural equation modelling was utilized for data analysis. Drawing from the Ability, Motivation, and Opportunity (AMO) theory, the results indicate that intrinsic motivation and opportunity practices significantly enhance employee engagement. However, practices related to ability and extrinsic motivation show no effect. The findings suggest that leaders should prioritize offering skill development opportunities and attractive rewards to encourage active employee engagement. Moreover, human resource policies and procedures should align with these objectives to enhance the value of human capital, achieve organizational objectives, and enhance employee well-being. This study emphasizes the critical importance of AMO practices in significantly boosting employee engagement levels. Keywords: employee engagement, AMO practices, PLS-SEM
... Compared with face-to-face work, organizations and superiors have more constraints and norms on remote employees. For example, keeping connected anytime and anywhere has become a fundamental norm of remote work (Derks et al., 2015), using interactive monitoring to compensate for the decrease in face-to-face supervision norms. Therefore, interactive monitoring is a necessity and feasible in the context of remote work. ...
The current academic research on whether and how the different supervisor monitoring effect in remote workplace is relatively scarce. Based on the Job demand-resource (JD-R) Model, this study proposes that as a kind of work resource, interactional monitoring will enhance employees’ self-efficacy, further enhance remote employees’ work engagement and reduce their deviant behaviors. While as a kind of work requirement, electronic monitoring will decrease employees’ self-efficacy, further reduce remote employee’s work engagement and increase their deviant behaviors. This study gets the empirical date of 299 employees who experienced remote work. Amos 23.0, SPSS 23.0 software and process plug-in were used to do the hierarchical regression, bootstrap and simple slope analysis, so that to test the hypothesis. This study broadens the research situation and mechanism of different supervisor monitoring, so as to enrich the comprehensive understanding of the effect of them, and also to provide some inspiration and reference for relevant management practices.
... Michel and colleagues (Michel et al. 2011) show, for example, that spousal support-such as instrumental, emotional, informational advice, or feedback and appraisal-allows individuals to meet their demands in the family domain more effectively. Other contextual factors that shape the degree and type of personal work-family conflict include employers (Derks et al. 2015), organizational norms (Foucreault et al. 2018), work-family policies (Rothbard et al. 2005), and broader cultural norms around work (Mazmanian et al. 2013). ...
Pandemic-related changes, including the expansion of remote work and the closure of schools and daycare supports, posed unprecedented challenges to parents’ conceptions of their work and home routines. Drawing on interviews with 88 heterosexual partnered parents, we examine the different ways parents understand what it means to balance work and family responsibilities and how their conceptions shaped satisfaction with their balance during the COVID-19 pandemic. First, we discover that parents held three distinct conceptions of work–family balance at the outset of the pandemic: (1) individualistic (where balance is understood as an individual pursuit and regarded independently of their partner’s efforts in the work and family spheres), (2) specialized (where each partner specializes in one sphere, producing balance between spheres), and (3) egalitarian (where partners share responsibilities in both spheres). Next, among the women and men who held specialized or egalitarian conceptions of balance, most sustained their level of satisfaction. In contrast, among those with individualistic conceptions, most women (but not men) reported a change in their satisfaction. These findings provide new insights about the varied meanings people attach to the concept of “work–family balance” and how these diverse conceptions have consequences for satisfaction with gender dynamics in households.
... In this context, "coercion" refers to the pressure on adolescents to use smartphones for various tasks and activities in different situations, such as attending online classes, checking in online, participating in online surveys, e-learning, and connecting with family members. Under coercion, individuals are required to spend more time using smartphones in order to meet organizational or environmental requirements and norms [28,81]. ...
Excessive smartphone use has become a growing issue among adolescents as they develop mentally and socially. While researchers have examined individual and technological predictors of smartphone addiction, few studies consider broader societal influences. This study explored how social pressures such as mimicry, coercion, and norms impact persistent conscious smartphone use (use stickiness) and unconscious smartphone use (use habit). A survey was administered in two phases to 309 college students at a university in Southern China to gather data on perceptions of social influences and their degree of smartphone overuse. The relationships were analysed using a structural equation model. The study confirms the impact of three social pressures - mimetic, coercive and normative - on adolescents’ degree of smartphone overuse (use stickiness and use habit). The mimetic pressure positively impacted use stickiness but not use habit. The coercive pressure positively impacted both the use stickiness and the use habit. The normative pressure positively impacted use habit but not use stickiness. This study provides a novel perspective on overlooked social drivers of problematic smartphone tendencies among youth. Our study also provides insights for educators, parents, and policymakers to more effectively intervene in adolescent smartphone overuse.
... As a specific organisational practice, WCBA involves assigning tasks to employees or engaging in workplace social behaviour with them through electronic devices outside the working hours and location. Leaders frequently choose to contact their subordinates via electronic communication technologies during off-hours, typically because of pressing requirements (Derks et al., 2015). However, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic (Gallardo-Gallardo and Collings, 2021) and owing to the latest technological evolutions (Whysall et al., 2019), this working connectivity has become a standard (Vaiman et al., 2021). ...
Purpose
Digital technologies over time are becoming increasingly pervasive and relatively affordable, finding a large diffusion in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) also for internationalization purposes. However, less is known about the specific mechanisms by which this can be achieved. Specifically, we focus on how SMEs can face the international environment, leveraging digital technologies and thanks to their intellectual capital (IC).
Design/methodology/approach
We analyze the relationship between digital technologies and the internationalization of SMEs, exploring the mediating role of IC in its three dimensions: human, relational and innovation capital, and assessing the possible moderating effects posed by international institutional conditions, specifically the Sino-US trade frictions. The relationships are tested using a sample of companies listed on China’s A-share Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) from 2010 to 2021.
Findings
Digital technologies help to internationalize SMEs. However, this positive relationship is affected (mediated) by the presence of an already consolidated IC. In addition, the institutional conditions of the international market, such as the Sino-US trade friction, moderate the components of IC differently. Specifically, the overall mediating effect of human and relational capital is boosted, while this does not happen for innovation capital.
Originality/value
First, this study contributes to the literature on organizational resilience, especially digital resilience, confirming its validity in the context of internationalization and, in particular, those processes adopted by SMEs. Second, we clarify the mechanisms through which digital technologies exert their impact on the process of internationalization and in particular the prominent necessity of having IC. Third, our conclusions enrich the understanding of how IC components react to turbulence in international markets.
... Consequently, employees face challenges in detaching from work, hampering their ability to recover from work. This, in turn, exacerbates work-family conflict (Day et al., 2019;Derks et al., 2015;Harris et al., 2015), reduces work-life balance (Carvalho et al., 2015), and contributes to insomnia and depression (Panova & Lleras, 2016;Thomée et al., 2007). Notably, research highlights that the adverse outcomes associated with ICTs are closely linked to workplace telepressure (Barber & Santuzzi, 2015, 2017Kotera et al., 2021). ...
Information and communication technology (ICT) provides employees with convenience in communication. However, it also creates a preoccupation with and urges to respond quickly to work‐related ICT messages during nonworking time, which is defined as workplace telepressure after hours (WTA). Drawing on the job demand–resource model, conservation of resource theory, and workplace anxiety theory, this study explores how and when task interdependence and dispositional workplace anxiety affect WTA and how individuals cope with WTA. A total of 269 full‐time workers from an online survey panel completed questionnaires at three time‐points. We found that both task interdependence and dispositional workplace anxiety are positively related to WTA. The perception of pay‐for‐responsiveness moderates the relationship between task interdependence and WTA, such that the relationship is significant only for employees with a strong perception of pay‐for‐responsiveness. Others' approval contingency of self‐worth moderates the relationship between dispositional workplace anxiety and WTA, and the relationship is significant only for employees with high degrees of others' approval contingency of self‐worth. Finally, WTA arising from external work requirements or the internal pursuit of achieving work goals prompts employees to generate responsiveness coping strategies. Overall, these findings suggest that task interdependence and dispositional workplace anxiety are important factors affecting employees' WTA and highlight the importance of being responsive to WTA.
... Organizations that promote a highly competitive culture can pressure employees to outperform each other. If most employees use their own device at all times to keep up with job demands, it is difficult for other employees not to follow suit in such an "always on" culture (Derks et al., 2015). Culture is modeled by leaders and managers as well as other colleagues' actions. ...
Bring your Own Device (BYOD) is an increasingly popular phenomenon at work, with several potential benefits (e.g., cost reduction, convenience and flexibility) and concerns (e.g., security risk, blurring of work-life boundary, and privacy infringement). Yet, systematic research incorporating theoretical perspectives on BYOD has been limited. This paper analyzes BYOD by integrating organizational control and justice frameworks. For control, approaches advanced by Hopwood, Ouchi and Edwards were adopted, covering simple control, administrative/bureaucratic control, technical/technological control, social control, and self control. The justice framework includes both distributive and procedural fairness. It is posited that justice/fairness mediates the effects of the control mechanisms. Practices under various controls that are seen as fair or unfair are discussed and recommendations provided.
... Although meta-analytic results suggest a positive relationship between TASW and work engagement when considering both the person and day level (Kühner et al., 2023), diary studies could not confirm this positive association between TASW and work engagement at the within-person level. Whereas some diary studies found a negative relationship between daily TASW and work engagement the next day (Ten Brummelhuis and Lanaj et al., 2014), other diary studies did not find significant associations between the two variables (Derks et al., 2015;van Laethem et al., 2018;Darouei et al., 2023). Hence, we assume that TASW event appraisal-rather than the mere TASW event occurrence-may provide valuable insights into these inconsistent results. ...
Introduction: Information and communication technologies (ICT) allow employees to engage in technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW), such as continuing work tasks and being contacted by supervisors or colleagues after their official working hours. Research has found that TASW can have positive and negative effects on employee wellbeing. Yet, it remains unclear under which circumstances TASW is beneficial or harmful. Building on appraisal theories, we hypothesized that a more positive appraisal of TASW events is related to higher levels of daily psychological detachment and work engagement. We further proposed that daily psychological detachment is positively associated with daily
work engagement and mediates the relationship between appraisal of TASW events and daily work engagement.
Methods: To test our hypotheses, we conducted a diary study with two surveys per day over five consecutive workdays (N = 135; 245 daily observations).
Results: Results ofmultilevel path analysis showed that a more positive appraisal of TASW was positively related to work engagement. However, appraisal of TASW events was notassociated with psychological detachment and, therefore, there was no mediating effect on work engagement.
Discussion: Our results contribute to existing research by investigating potential beneficial aspects of TASW and its effects on work engagement. Future research avenues and practical implications are discussed.
... Millennials who unconsciously and regularly use their smartphones are more prone to exhibit addictive traits, promoting the adoption of materialistic beliefs and practices (Lee et al., 2018). As millennials become increasingly dependent on their smartphones and engage in addictive use, such as excessive checking, social media browsing and online shopping (Derks et al., 2015), they are more likely to have heightened materialistic urges (Handa and Ahuja, 2020). In this study, addictive smartphone use mediates the association between habitual smartphone use and materialism because it strengthens millennials' habitual use of smartphones and promotes materialistic beliefs and actions. ...
Purpose
This paper aims to use the five-factor model’s (FFM: emotional instability, introversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness) personality traits and the need for arousal to explain millennials’ habitual and addictive smartphone use and resultant materialistic inclinations. The study also test the mediating role of addictive use in the relationship between habitual use and materialism.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants’ self-reported data ( n = 705) from a sample of millennials were gathered using a cross-sectional survey approach conducted in Malaysia and studied using structural equation modelling with partial least squares (PLS-SEM).
Findings
The results discover that emotional instability, openness to experience, agreeableness and need for arousal have a significant influence on habitual smartphone use. Conversely, introversion and conscientiousness have no significant impact on habitual use. Fascinatingly, millennials’ habitual use positively influences their materialism. Furthermore, addictive smartphone use positively affects materialism and mediates the relationship between habitual use and materialism.
Originality/value
The FFM, a prominent personality trait model, has been used in numerous studies to predict usage intention. However, the particular dimension of the FFM personality traits that drive habitual and addictive smartphone use to trigger materialistic tendencies among millennials needs to be exposed in an emerging market context. The results emphasise the need to consider this demographic’s personalities when attempting to comprehend how habitual use and materialism occur. This study also provides practitioners with helpful information in creating targeted interventions to encourage healthy smartphone use behaviours and reduce possible adverse effects related to addictive smartphone use and materialistic attitudes.
El teletrabajo es una práctica cada vez más frecuente, impulsada por la presencia continua de las TIC; sin embargo, tiene muchos desafíos que pueden afectar la productividad laboral y la salud mental de las personas. El objetivo de este estudio es identificar los factores que provocan estrés en los empleados que trabajan en modalidad virtual, entre los cuales se destaca la dificultad para separar la vida personal de la vida laboral, la dificultad para la desconexión laboral, la sobrecarga de trabajo, el aislamiento social y la universalidad de las nuevas tecnologías. Metodológicamente se basa en una investigación documental, aplicada, descriptiva, cualitativa, no experimental, inductiva y transversal. Se requiere de la iniciativa y participación de trabajadores y organizaciones requeridas en la adopción de medidas que permitan el equilibrio entre el ámbito personal y laboral de los empleados, creando determinados espacios para trabajar en casa y definiendo horarios laborales y personales. También es necesaria la desconexión laboral respetando el derecho al descanso de las pantallas, la organización de tareas empleando métodos de administración de tiempo y la justa distribución de las cargas laborales entre los miembros de una organización, la promoción de actividades sociales y las capacitaciones a los trabajadores para el manejo de herramientas digitales. El ejercicio físico y la meditación demostraron ser prácticas efectivas para disminuir el estrés, que pueden ser realizadas durante el día por breves momentos. Finalmente, se estima necesario que el Estado regule el uso de las TIC para asegurar que los empleados mantengan su salud mental.
In today’s interconnected and fast-paced work environment, technological advancements have blurred the boundaries between work and personal life. Consequently, employees often find themselves expected to remain available for electronic communication outside regular work hours. While some studies suggest that this aids employees in transitioning between work and home life, it may also hinder their ability to maintain a balance between work and personal life. Thus, drawing on boundary theory and conservation of resources theory, this study examines the impact of after-hours electronic communication expectations (AECE) on job satisfaction through work interference with family and emotional exhaustion. The results of data collected from 300 participants in the textile industry of Pakistan reveal a direct negative impact of AECE on job satisfaction. The results also indicate an indirect effect, wherein AECE influences job satisfaction through a sequential mediation process involving work interference with family, emotional exhaustion, and ultimately, negatively impacts job satisfaction, indicating a cascading effect. The study’s implications for theory and practice, as well as its limitations, are also addressed and discussed.
O uso crescente de tecnologias de informação e comunicação no contexto educacional tem gerado o tecnoestresse (também conhecido como estresse tecnológico – um estado psicológico negativo causado pelo uso excessivo ou inadequado de tecnologias de informação e comunicação), que afeta a saúde mental dos professores. Este estudo examinou a relação entre tecnoestresse e conflito trabalho-família em 455 professores da educação básica, levando em consideração as características dos setores público e privado. Os resultados indicam que os professores de escolas públicas apresentaram níveis mais elevados de tecnoestresse, enquanto os professores de escolas privadas apresentaram níveis mais altos de inibição a esse estresse tecnológico. As descobertas deste estudo podem ser úteis para os gestores escolares na implementação de estratégias como políticas de flexibilidade, suporte de automonitoramento digital e treinamento sobre o uso de tecnologias de informação e comunicação, a fim de mitigar os efeitos do tecnoestresse. No entanto, pesquisas futuras com delineamentos longitudinais são necessárias para aprofundar a compreensão dessa relação.
Purpose
This study aims to explore the impact of bring your own device (BYOD) practices on teleworkers’ job performance, work–life conflict and their implications for environmental sustainability, with a particular focus on Green IT in the post-pandemic remote work context. Drawing on the job demands–resources (JD-R) model, it examines the relationships between private technology adoption, job demands, job resources, job performance and work–life conflict, while also assessing how BYOD impacts environmental outcomes such as electronic waste reduction and carbon emissions.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) using AMOS version 22 to evaluate seven hypotheses among 424 full-time teleworkers from various occupational sectors in Mauritius, a developing country.
Findings
SEM results confirm that BYOD enhances job performance and work–life conflict through increased job autonomy, workload and work pressure. BYOD and teleworking also contribute to Green IT and environmental sustainability by reducing energy consumption and electronic waste, indirectly supporting broader sustainability goals through reduced corporate device demand and lower commuting-related emissions.
Practical implications
Organisations should leverage BYOD policies to advance Green IT practices and improve work performance in remote settings, focusing on balancing job demands with resources like work autonomy to enhance productivity and well-being.
Originality/value
The findings strongly support the JD-R model in the context of remote work and BYOD, particularly in developing economies with limited infrastructure, offering insights for policies that enhance both employee well-being, Green IT and environmental sustainability.
Ce texte propose une recension et une explication des différentes causes et effets associés à l’hyperconnectivité professionnelle, et souhaite mettre en exergue la nécessité de trouver des solutions tant législatives que de gestion qui tiennent compte des réalités technologiques actuelles. L’hyperconnectivité professionnelle est définie comme la connexion quasi constante aux technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) en vue de rester connecté au milieu professionnel. Se manifestant chez les travailleur·euses de tous milieux et postes hiérarchiques, elle est associée à de nombreux effets délétères sur la santé de ces travailleur·euses, leurs trajectoires professionnelles et leur articulation travail-vie personnelle, mais aussi sur l’organisation même du travail. Certaines initiatives d’autodiscipline individuelle (par exemple, éteindre ses appareils professionnels après la journée de travail) peuvent être efficaces pour certain·es travailleur·euses. Elles sont toutefois loin d’être une panacée, vu les nombreux facteurs échappant au contrôle des travailleur·euses et les motivant, voire les enjoignant, à demeurer connecté·es en tout temps et en tout lieu.
Purpose
This study aimed to explore two questions. The first is why employees become emotionally exhausted when faced with after-hours electronic communication. The second is how can emotional exhaustion caused by after-hours electronic communication be alleviated?
Design/methodology/approach
Our research was based on conservation of resources theory, social exchange theory, and relative deprivation theory. We surveyed 241 employees using three waves of data collection to examine the impact of after-hours electronic communication expectations on their emotional exhaustion. We also explored the mediating effects of relative deprivation and obsessive passion from a cognitive-affective perspective and the moderating effect of leader-member exchange.
Findings
The results indicate that after-hours electronic communication expectations lead to employee emotional exhaustion, which is mediated by obsessive passion and relative deprivation. The leader-member exchange negatively moderated after-hours electronic communication expectations and relative deprivation but positively moderated after-hours electronic communication expectations and obsessive passion, thereby alleviating employee emotional exhaustion.
Originality/value
In exploring the influence mechanism of after-hours electronic communication expectations on emotional exhaustion from a cognitive-affective perspective, our study went beyond the limitations of analysis from a single perspective. A comparison of the two pathways indicated that cognition (relative deprivation) is more likely to lead to emotional exhaustion, which validates the view that individuals can ultimately analyse their behaviours rationally. By exploring the moderating effect of leader-member exchange, we provide a theoretical basis for organisations to take measures to alleviate the negative emotions caused by after-hours electronic communication.
Research on the use of digital devices to conduct tasks across work and non-work domains (i.e., boundary-crossing ICT use) grows rapidly. To gain an overview of this expanding field, we conducted a systematic search in 14 databases (e.g., WoS, PsycINFO) for studies examining the outcomes of performing 1) work-related tasks during non-work time and 2) non-work tasks during work time. After screening 17,388 abstracts, 398 were read in full text, and 159 publications were included. Most studies used cross-sectional interviews or self-report survey data of employees in high-income countries. The work-family interface, individual work and health outcomes were commonly studied, while family and organizational outcomes received little attention. Moreover, research with a multilevel perspective and studies examining objective outcomes (e.g., divorce, sick leave) were scarce and the performance of non-work tasks during work time was often ignored. Despite the burgeoning literature, there is an urgent need to arrive at a common conceptualization and operationalization of boundary-crossing ICT use to be able to compare findings across studies and disciplines. We suggest a new definition and future agenda to contribute to a deeper understanding of the field.
Purpose
This study aims to validate the impact of waiting staff’s attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control on customer dissuasion from over-ordering and identify their antecedents using an extended theory of planned behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
We selected three categories of restaurants (30 in total, including fine dining, casual dining, and fast food) in Macao and Zhuhai (China) for conducting the survey using a purposive sampling approach. The respondents were waiting staff who took customers’ orders in the past three months. In total, 393 valid responses were used for a structural-equation-modelling analysis.
Findings
The results show that restaurant waiting staff’s attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control have positive effects on their intention to dissuade customers from over-ordering. Our study further reveals that perceived behavioural control is far more influential than attitudes and subjective norms on restaurant employees’ intentions to intervene with over-ordering. We also validate seven antecedents, including environmental concern and communication for attitudes, peer influence, supervisor influence, and organisational support for subjective norms, and self-efficacy and training for perceived behavioural control.
Originality/value
The food-waste literature tends to focus on consumers in home and restaurant settings and has paid scarce attention to the role of restaurant waiting staff in intervening in consumers’ waste behaviours. We fill in this research gap by revealing a formation mechanism for waiting staff’s intention to dissuade over-ordering.
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance has emerged as a pressing concern in contemporary society, given the relentless pace of the modern world and the relentless pursuit of career success. This paper employs a bibliometric approach to delve into the landscape of work-life balance research, delving into trends, pivotal themes, and collaboration dynamics among scholars. The methodology hinges on meticulous data collection from esteemed academic databases, followed by comprehensive analysis facilitated by bibliometric software. The findings underscore a burgeoning interest in work-life balance inquiry, underscored by a dual focus on the detrimental repercussions of work-family conflict and the advantageous outcomes of attaining equilibrium. The analysis sheds light on influential authors shaping the discourse, pivotal research themes driving the field forward, and prospective avenues for further exploration. These insights hold significance for academia, industry practitioners, and policymakers alike. By unpacking the implications of this research, organizations, individuals, and society stand to gain. It underscores the imperative of fostering work-life balance not only for individual well-being but also for optimizing organizational effectiveness. Moreover, the paper emphasizes the nuanced interplay between work and personal life, advocating for strategies that facilitate harmony between the two realms. Recognizing the multifaceted nature of work-life balance, it calls for tailored interventions and policies that acknowledge diverse needs and preferences. By fostering an environment conducive to balance, organizations can enhance employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention rates. Simultaneously, individuals can lead more fulfilling lives characterized by holistic well-being and fulfillment across various domains. In essence, this research contributes to a deeper understanding of work-life balance dynamics, offering actionable insights for stakeholders across different spheres.
In this article, we present a bibliometric analysis of studies examining the consequences of boundary-crossing information communication technology (ICT) use, e.g., the use of ICT to conduct tasks across the work and family domains. We explore main contributors, disciplines, and topics of focus, as well as knowledge gaps, and lines of communication within this interdisciplinary field. Our aim is to explore knowledge production and knowledge exchange across disciplines and research employing different methods. Our findings reveal two clusters of publications: an interdisciplinary cluster, and a cluster dominated by organizational psychology, organizational science, and human resource management. Furthermore, our findings show that despite overlapping topics, qualitative and quantitative studies primary rely on two different bodies of literature. We argue that more communication across research employing different methods and a greater variety of disciplines is needed to advance the research on boundary-crossing ICT use.
In an era where home and work domains have become inseparable, it is surprising that extant research has placed less emphasis on examining the boundary conditions and mechanisms to understand the home‐to‐work crossover and spillover process. Building on the work–home resources theory and the crossover‐spillover perspectives, we test a resource‐based crossover‐spillover model of how one partner's work–family spousal support provision relates to the other partner's creativity at work. We propose that “phubbing” at home affects the crossover process of resource exchange between partners. Regarding the spillover from home to work, we propose that job crafting mediates the association between work–family spousal support and employee creativity. Daily diary data were collected from 65 dual‐earner couples, over 15 working days in the United States. Results from the multilevel actor–partner interdependence model show that work–family support enhances employee creativity by prompting the employee's relational job crafting and cognitive job crafting at work. Moreover, our results reveal that the high level of phubbing at home weakens the work–family support crossover between partners. We contribute to the literature by adding evidence regarding the mechanisms that enable social support at home to turn into employee creativity at work.
Purpose
Employees may adopt deceptive knowledge hiding (DKH) due to nonworking time information and communication technology (ICT) demands. Drawing from the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study aims to develop and test a model of deceptive knowledge hiding (DKH) due to nonworking time information and communication technology (ICT) demands.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 300 service employees have joined the three-wave surveys. Path analysis and bootstrapping methods were used to test the theoretical model.
Findings
Results suggest that knowledge requests during nonworking time could deplete employees’ resources and increase their tendency to engage in DKH, whereas work recovery and emotional exhaustion mediate this relationship. In addition, employees’ work–family segmentation preferences (WFSP) were found to moderate the direct effects of nonworking time ICT demands on employees’ work recovery and emotional exhaustion and the indirect effects of knowledge requests after working hours on DKH through employees’ work recovery and emotional exhaustion.
Originality/value
First, the findings of this study shed light on the relationship between knowledge requests during employees’ nonworking time and knowledge hiding, suggesting that knowledge hiding could occur beyond working hours. Second, drawing on COR theory, this study explored two joint processes of resource replenishment failure and depletion and how nonworking time ICT demands trigger knowledge hiding. Third, the interaction effect of individuals’ WFSP and nonworking time factors on knowledge hiding deepens the understanding of when nonworking time ICT demands may induce knowledge hiding through various processes.
In today's settings, finding work-life balance has become more crucial than ever, and this has significant effects on the mental health of employees. In order to clarify the critical role that work settings play in influencing people's mental health outcomes, this study explores the complex relationship between corporate culture and mental health.Through a comprehensive review of existing literature, it becomes evident that corporate culture significantly influences employee attitudes, behaviors, and mental health (Cameron & Quinn, 2011; Schneider et al., 2017). This research examines the dimensions of organizational culture, encompassing its norms, values, leadership styles, and policies, to discern their impact on WLB and mental health. Empirical evidence consistently underscores the association between a supportive corporate culture and positive mental health outcomes (Schein, 2010; Hofstede, 2011). Conversely, toxic cultures characterized by high stress, excessive workload, and lack of support mechanisms have been linked to increased stress, burnout, and deteriorating mental health among employees (Maslach et al., 2001; Leiter &Maslach, 2009).This study aims to identify critical factors within organizational frameworks that either foster or hinder WLB and subsequently effect mental health. By examining successful case studies and interventions promoting mental wellness within corporate cultures (Ryan & Deci, 2017; Spreitzer et al., 2012), it seeks to provide actionable insights for leaders and policymakers to cultivate environments conducive to WLB and bolster employee mental health. The findings of this research will contribute to a deeper understanding of the nexus between corporate culture, WLB, and mental health, offering valuable implications for fostering supportive cultures that prioritize employee health and productivity..
With the growing use of digital technologies at work, employees are facing new demands. Digital technologies are also changing how leaders and followers interact. Leadership must adapt to these changes and find ways to reduce the demands of digital work for their followers so they maintain their capacity for and motivation to work. Against this background, we analyze the impact leadership has on technostress by conducting a systematic literature review. An electronic search was based on 13 databases (ACM Digital, AIS eLibrary, APA PsychInfo, EBSCO, Emerald Insight, Jstor, Pubmed, SAGE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Taylor & Francis Online, WISO, and Web of Science) and was carried out in October 2023. We identified 1725 articles—31 of which met the selection criteria. Thirteen more were identified in a backward search, leaving 44 articles for analysis. The conceptual analysis reveals that empowering and supportive leadership can decrease follower technostress. Leadership that emphasizes high availability expectations, task orientation and control can increase technostress and technostress-related outcomes. Furthermore, leadership’s impact on follower technostress is influenced by how ICTs are being used to convey leadership. We synthesize seven analytical themes of leadership among the technostress literature and derive them into the three aggregated dimensions which serve as the foundation of a conceptual model of leadership’s impact on follower technostress: technostress-increasing leadership, technostress-decreasing leadership, and technology-enabled leadership. Furthermore, we formulate avenues for future research.
This paper reviews empirical evidence on how telecommunications technologies affect the context of work and organizations at the individual, group, organizational, and inter-organizational level of analysis. Telecommunications is defined broadly to include both networks themselves and applications that enable not only computer-mediated communication but also digital transactions. Because digital telecommunications is an emergent phenomena, our knowledge of its implications for work is sparse. Despite this lack of evidence, numerous claims are made in the literature. Telecommunications are depicted as freeing the work of individuals and organizations from the constraints of time and space. In addition, telecommunications are said to facilitate market coordination and cause greater interdependence among organizations. In general, predictions of the effects of telecommunications neglect intervening variables and are overly deterministic. We evaluate the claims that have been made about telecommunications technology in light of the available evidence and conclude with suggestions for further research.
An examination of the literature on conflict between work and family roles suggests that work-family conflict exists when: (a) time devoted to the requirements of one role makes it difficult to fulfill requirements of another; (b) strain from participation in one role makes it difficult to fulfill requirements of another; and (c) specific behaviors required by one role make it difficult to fulfill the requirements of another. A model of work-family conflict is proposed, and a series of research propositions is presented.
This article presents an overview of the literature on daily fluctuations in work engagement. Daily work engagement is a state of vigor, dedication, and absorption that is predictive of important organizational outcomes, including job performance. After briefly discussing enduring work engagement, the advantages of diary research are discussed, as well as the concept and measurement of daily work engagement. The research evidence shows that fluctuations in work engagement are a function of the changes in daily job and personal resources. Particularly on the days that employees have access to many resources, they are able to cope well with their daily job demands ( e. g., work pressure, negative events), and likely interpret these demands as challenges. Furthermore, the literature review shows that on the days employees have sufficient levels of job control, they proactively try to optimize their work environment in order to stay engaged. This proactive behavior is called job crafting and predicts momentary and daily work engagement. An important additional finding is that daily engagement has a reciprocal relationship with daily recovery. On the days employees recover well, they feel more engaged; and engagement during the day is predictive of subsequent recovery. Finding the daily balance between engagement while at work and detachment while at home seems the key to enduring work engagement.
While diary studies have gained in popularity, the validity of the measures utilized in such studies remains an underresearched issue. This study examines the factor structure of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) on both between-person (trait) and within-person (state) levels. A multilevel confirmatory factor analysis was performed to confirm that the between-level factor structure also operates on the within-level. Data from 271 employees who filled in a state version of the UWES on five consecutive days were used to perform the analysis. Results showed that the UWES can be used to measure both trait and state work engagement. The three-factor multilevel model appeared to best fit the data. Implications for future research on engagement are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This paper reports on the stepwise development of a new questionnaire for measuring work-home interaction, i.e. the Survey Work-home Interaction—NijmeGen, the SWING). Inspired by insights from work psychology, more specifically from Effort-Recovery Theory (Meijman & Mulder, 199839.
Meijman , T. F. and
Mulder , G. 1998. “Psychological aspects of workload”. In Handbook of work and organizational psychology, Edited by:
Drenth , P. J. ,
Thierry , H. and
de Wolff , C. J. 5–33. Hove: Psychology Press. View all references), we defined work-home interaction by differentiating between the direction and quality of influence. Four types of work-home interaction were distinguished and measured by using 22 (including 13 self-developed) items. By using data from five independent samples (total N=2472), validity evidence was provided based on the internal structure of the questionnaire. The results showed that the questionnaire reliably measured four empirically distinct types of work-home interaction, and that this four-dimensional structure was largely invariant across the five samples as well as across relevant subgroups. Validity evidence was also provided based on the relations with external (theoretically relevant) variables (i.e. job characteristics, home characteristics, and indicators of health and well-being). The results generally supported the hypothesized relationships of these external variables with negative work-home interaction. Less support was found, however, for the hypothesized relationships with positive work-home interaction. This contributes to current literature as it employs a relatively broad conceptualization of work-home interaction and offers a promising tool that measures its multiple components across a wide variety of workers.
An examination of the literature on conflict between work and family roles suggests that work-family conflict exists when: (a) time devoted to the requirements of one role makes it difficult to fulfill requirements
of another; (b) strain from participation in one role makes it difficult to fulfill requirements of another; and (c) specific behaviors required by one role make it difficult to fulfill the requirements of another. A model of work-family conflict is proposed, and a series of research propositions is presented.
We develop a cross-level model and typology of work–family (W–F) boundary management styles in organizations. A boundary management style is the general approach an individual uses to demarcate boundaries and attend to work and family roles. We argue that variation in W–F boundary management styles (integrator, separator, alternating) is a function of individual boundary-crossing preferences (flexibility, permeability, symmetry, direction); the centrality and configuration of work–family role identities; as well as the organizational work–family climate for customization. The model assumes that an individual’s perceived control to enact a boundary style that aligns with boundary-crossing preferences and identities has direct effects on individual perceptions of work–family conflict and also moderates the level of work–family conflict of boundary management styles experienced across organizational contexts. We offer propositions relevant to future research and practice.
We investigated how people manage boundaries to negotiate the demands between work and home life. We discovered and classified four types of boundary work tactics (behavioral, temporal, physical, and communicative) that individuals utilized to help create their ideal level and style of work-home segmentation or integration. We also found important differences between the generalized state of work-home conflict and "boundary violations," which we define as behaviors, events, or episodes that either breach or neglect the desired work-home boundary. We present a model based on two qualitative studies that demonstrates how boundary work tactics reduce the negative effects of work-home challenges. "Balance" between work and home lives is a much sought after but rarely claimed state of being. Work-family researchers have successfully encour- aged organizations, families, and individuals to recognize the importance of tending to their needs for balance. Over 30 years ago, Kanter (1977) spoke of the "myth of separate worlds" and called atten- tion to the reality that work and home are inexora- bly linked. Yet, she argued, organizations are often structured in such a way that their leadership for- gets or ignores employees' outside lives. Although organizational leaders and managers generally tend more to employees' nonwork needs than they did when Kanter wrote her landmark work, struggles to balance work and home demands are still common-
This study outlines the experiences and ramifications of the use of wireless email devices within a small private equity firm. We find that the opportunity to frequently monitor and respond to email enables a sense of control over the pace and substance of information flow while the specific properties of wireless email devices provide an opportunity to control potential interruptions. This encourages a compulsive checking of email and an inability to disengage from work that is common to all users but framed as a matter of individual choice. Emerging norms reveal implicit expectations of availability and responsiveness that are in direct contrast to espoused firm values. Thus, members of an entire firm carrying a device that facilitates 'unobtrusive' access to email may unwittingly generate shared patterns of use that encourage a self-reinforcing cycle of constant communication.
As workers strive to manage multiple roles such as work and family, research has begun to focus on how people manage the boundary between work and nonwork roles. This paper contributes to emerging work on boundary theory by examining the extent to which individuals desire to integrate or segment their work and nonwork lives. This desire is conceptualized and measured on a continuum ranging from segmentation (i.e., separation) to integration (i.e., blurring) of work and nonwork roles. We examine the fit between individuals' desires for integration/segmentation and their access to policies that enable boundary management, suggesting that more policies may not always be better in terms of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Using survey methodology and a sample of 460 employees, we found that desire for greater segmentation does moderate the relationship between the organizational policies one has access to and individuals' satisfaction and commitment. People who want more segmentation are less satisfied and committed to the organization when they have greater access to integrating policies (e.g., onsite childcare) than when they have less access to such policies. Conversely, people who want greater segmentation are more committed when they have greater access to segmenting policies (e.g., flextime) than when they have less access to such policies. Moreover, the fit between desire for segmentation and organizational policy has an effect on satisfaction and commitment over and above the effects of demographic characteristics such as age, gender, marital status, income, number of children, and the ages of those children.
Communication technologies have made it increasingly feasible for employees to stay connected to work when not in the office. Yet we have little understanding of the implications for important aspects of work and work life. This study investigates how the use of communication technologies beyond normal work hours relates to work-related attitudes and work-to-life conflict. Results found that employees with higher ambition and job involvement were more likely to use communication technologies after hours. Furthermore, use of communication technologies after hours was associated with the employee's work-to-life conflict as reported by the employee and a significant other of the employee.
The Study How Pervasive Is Feeling Overworked? What Aspects of Jobs Contribute to Feeling Overworked? Do Different Demographic Groups Feel More or Less Overworked? What Happens when Employees Feel Overworked? Implications for Employers What Might Be Done to Reduce the Frequency with which Employees Feel Overworked?
This article reports on the development of a short questionnaire to measure work engagement—a positive work-related state of fulfillment that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Data were collected in 10 different countries (N = 14,521), and results indicated that the original 17-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) can be shortened to 9 items (UWES-9). The factorial validity of the UWES-9 was demonstrated using confirmatory factor analyses, and the three scale scores have good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Furthermore, a two-factor model with a reduced Burnout factor (including exhaustion and cynicism) and an expanded Engagement factor (including vigor, dedication, absorption, and professional efficacy) fit best to the data. These results confirm that work engagement may be conceived as the positive antipode of burnout. It is concluded that the UWES-9 scores has acceptable psychometric properties and that the instrument can be used in studies on positive organizational behavior.
Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings.
Do professors put in very long workweeks solely out of a love of their work, or do expectations for teaching and publishing essentially require a sixty-hour workweek for the successful completion of the job? How do faculty members reconcile the demands of an academic career with the realities of family life? Drawing on a large national survey of postsecondary faculty conducted in 1998, the authors examine the length of the workweek by analyzing its relationship to faculty dissatisfaction with their workload. The authors find evidence that many professors are dissatisfied with their workload. Moreover, dissatisfaction increases among those working the longest hours. The data also indicate that very long hours on the job greatly contribute to research productivity. The very long hours demanded by faculty jobs thus pose a dilemma for parents who want to spend time with their children and their families. The authors conclude by suggesting that the challenge is to create a set of expectations for academic employment that are compatible with responsible parenting in dual-career couples.
This diary study examines the impact of daily recovery experiences on daily work–home interference (WHI) and daily burnout symptoms within a group of smartphone users. A total of 69 employees using smartphones on the initiative of their employer completed a diary questionnaire on five successive workdays (N = 293 data points). We hypothesised that particularly for intensive smartphone users it would be important to engage in activities fostering psychological detachment and relaxation in order to reduce the risk of WHI. We predicted that smartphone use would be positively related to WHI. Finally, we predicted that the positive relationship between WHI and state levels of burnout would be stronger for intensive smartphone users. Overall, the results of multi-level analyses supported these hypotheses. The findings emphasise the importance of a clear organisational policy regarding smartphone use during after-work hours.
This diary study builds on the effort-recovery and broaden-and-build theories to examine whether the subjective experience of off-job activities (work-related, household, social, physical, low-effort) matters for an individual's daily recovery from work. It was hypothesized that momentary happiness experienced during off-job activities stops the prolongation of load reactions from work-related effort, and builds personal resources that benefit daily recovery from work. Using a day reconstruction method, 384 participants recruited via a Dutch website reconstructed their time spent on, and happiness during, off-job activities, and their daily recovery on workdays over a two-week period. Results of hierarchical linear modelling showed that work-related and household activities during off-job time were negatively associated with recovery at bedtime when happiness during such activities was low, but not when happiness was high. Social and physical activities were associated positively with recovery when happiness during such activities was high, but negatively when happiness was low, indicating that such activities only aid recovery when they are enjoyed. The findings expand knowledge on recovery by showing that it is not just the time spent on off-work activities but the subjective experience of such activities that plays a pivotal role in the way they are linked to recovery.
As both technologies and organizations undergo dramatic changes in form and function, organizational researchers are increasingly turning to concepts of innovation, emergence, and improvisation to help explain the new ways of organizing and using technology evident in practice. With a similar intent, I propose an extension to the structurational perspective on technology that develops a practice lens to examine how people, as they interact with a technology in their ongoing practices, enact structures which shape their emergent and situated use of that technology. Viewing the use of technology as a process of enactment enables a deeper understanding of the constitutive role of social practices in the ongoing use and change of technologies in the workplace. After developing this lens, I offer an example of its use in research, and then suggest some implications for the study of technology in organizations.
As both technologies and organizations undergo dramatic changes in form and function, organizational researchers are increasingly turning to concepts of innovation, emergence, and improvisation to help explain the new ways of organizing and using technology evident in practice. With a similar intent, I propose an extension to the structurational perspective on technology that develops a practice lens to examine how people, as they interact with a technology in their ongoing practices, enact structures which shape their emergent and situated use of that technology. Viewing the use of technology as a process of enactment enables a deeper understanding of the constitutive role of social practices in the ongoing use and change of technologies in the workplace. After developing this lens, I offer an example of its use in research, and then suggest some implications for the study of technology in organizations.
This commentary argues that the quality and usefulness of student-recruited data can be evaluated by examining the external validity and generalization issues related to this sampling method. Therefore, we discuss how the sampling methods of student- and non-student-recruited samples can enhance or diminish external validity and generalization. Next, we present the advantages of the student-recruited sampling method (heterogeneity of the sample, student learning, cost reduction, and elaborate research designs) and conclude with making additional suggestions on how to improve the quality of these data.
This diary study investigates time allocation between work and private life of dual‐earner couples. Addressing the association between positive and negative experiences in romantic relationships and time spent on work, we test propositions derived from a general control‐theoretical approach. We also study the consequences of time allocation to work and private life for relationship‐oriented needs and goals (i.e., intimacy and social support). A total of 152 persons (i.e., 76 couples), mainly working in academia, took part in our study. Using multilevel path analysis, we found support for the general control‐theoretical approach. Relationship quality was positively and relationship hassles were negatively associated with time spent on work. We found evidence for a trade‐off between time spent on work and relationship time. Relationship time in turn was positively associated with intimacy and social support. In our discussion, we stress the importance of time control in organizations in order to support employees in their daily trade‐off between time spent on work and on the relationship.
Practitioner points
We examine daily time spent to work, a variable that is highly important for goal‐pursuit at work and in the private life.
We shed light on resource allocation between work and private life as a self‐regulatory strategy helpful for the simultaneous pursuit of concerns in both life domains.
The outcomes intimacy and social support have relevance for performance and dealing with stress in the work domain.
Valuing and engaging in face time at work is challenged.
Student‐recruited sampling, a technique involving the use of student recruiters to find participants on behalf of a researcher, has been increasingly used in organizational research; yet there has been little attempt to understand its implications for the conclusions scholars draw from research. In this study, we meta‐analyse studies of engagement and perceptions of politics in order to examine whether student‐recruited sampling leads to samples that differ from other samples and whether those differences result in different observed relationships between variables. We found that student‐recruited samples were not substantively demographically different from non‐student‐recruited samples. Further, we found few differences in the observed correlations of student‐recruited samples compared with non‐student‐recruited samples; the differences found would not lead to different practical conclusions from the findings. We discuss the implications of these results for future studies and provide guidance for researchers, reviewers, and editors regarding the use of student‐recruited samples in organizational research.
Practitioner points
The type of sample used can lead to over‐ or under‐representation of demographic characteristics with the sample, which has unknown affects on analyses of data.
Student‐recruited samples may lead to smaller effect sizes of observed statistical relationships.
In this qualitative study, we examine how converged mobile devices (e.g. BlackBerries, Treos, and iPhones) are experienced by users of this contemporary connectivity technology. Perhaps not surprisingly, users experience similar pressures to be accessible and responsive; however, the sources of these expectations extend beyond those internal to organizations to include sources external to organizations (e.g. family, friends, industry, CMD-user community, and society in general). Users’ reactions to responsiveness-accessibility pressures differ in this study, clustering into three different categories — ‘enthusiastic,’ ‘balanced,’ and ‘trade-offs.’ Further analyses reveal three emergent factors influencing users’ reactions: the number of expectation sources; specificity of the sources; and adoption motives. Our research builds on technology and work studies to include factors that are related to heterogeneity in interpretations and enactments. Moreover, findings suggest that in the context of this connectivity technology, the role of the organization may not be as central as it has been in many other studies of technology and work.
New technologies could have a positive impact on women's lives because of their potential to disrupt old social and political conventions. Using the recent development of the cellular telephone as an example, the authors find, however, that gender differences in the acquisition and use of this technology already are reproducing familiar inequities. Women in the authors' study use the cellular telephone to manage creatively their responsibilities for home and children. Their husbands believe the women are in special need of protection.
In this essay, I begin with the premise that everyday organizing is inextricably bound up with materiality and contend that this relationship is inadequately reflected in organizational studies that tend to ignore it, take it for granted, or treat it as a special case. The result is an understanding of organizing and its conditions and consequences that is necessarily limited. I then argue for an alternative approach, one that posits the constitutive entanglement of the social and the material in everyday life. I draw on some empirical examples to help ground and illustrate this approach in practice and conclude by suggesting that a reconfiguration of our conventional assumptions and considerations of materiality will help us more effectively recognize and understand the multiple, emergent, and shifting sociomaterial assemblages entailed in contemporary organizing.
This article introduces work/family border theory - a new theory about work/family balance. According to the theory, people are daily border-crossers between the domains of work and family. The theory addresses how domain integration and segmentation, border creation and management, border-crosser participation, and relationships between border-crossers and others at work and home influence work/family balance. Propositions are given to guide future research.
Although work–home interference (WHI) refers to a process of negative interaction between the work and home domains, little attention has been paid to the actual processes involved in the within-person, day-to-day management of work and home. Therefore, this study investigated if, and how, a global report for the individual, of WHI (i.e., a general indicator of experienced WHI) is reflected in daily reports of WHI, in employees’ daily activity patterns in the work and home domain, and in their daily health and well-being. Effort-Recovery theory (Meijman & Mulder, 199824.
Meijman , T. F. and
Mulder , G. 1998. “Psychological aspects of workload”. In Handbook of Work and Organizational Psychology, 2nd ed., Edited by:
Drenth , P. J. D. ,
Thierry , H. and
de Wolff , C. J. 5–33. Hove: Psychology Press. View all references) provided the theoretical basis for this study. Data were collected among 120 academic staff members (62% male) who completed a general questionnaire, addressing global WHI as well as demographical information, and who also participated in a 5-day daily diary study. WHI was measured using the 8-item WHI subscale of the Survey Work–home Interaction Nijmegen (SWING), with an adapted version being used for the diary studies. Results showed that global WHI: (1) was positively related to daily WHI; (2) was positively related to the time spent daily on overtime work in the evening; (3) was negatively related to the time spent daily on low-effort activities; and (4) was positively related to daily fatigue and sleep complaints. We conclude that Effort-Recovery theory seems promising for the study of WHI, and that diary studies are valuable, as these provide detailed insight into what global reports of WHI actually signify from day to day.
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the shifting boundaries between two experiential categories – home and work – for office workers. The boundaries are both spatial and temporal, and the paper seeks to analyse how certain kinds of mobile technology are being used in such a way as to make these boundaries increasingly permeable.
Design/methodology/approach
The research involved both the collection of quantitative data using a survey tool, and the gathering of qualitative data through in‐depth interviews.
Findings
The paper finds that the mobile technology discussed enables work extension – the ability to work outside the office, outside “normal” office hours. This provides flexibility with respect to the timing and location of work, and makes it easier to accommodate both work and family. But at the same time, of course, it also increases expectations: managers and colleagues alike expect staff to be almost always available to do work, which makes it easier for work to encroach on family time, and also leads to a greater workload. The ability to perform work extension is, then, a dual‐edged sword.
Practical implications
The paper provides both managers and non‐managers with insight into the effects of providing mobile technology to office workers, and suggests some mechanisms to mitigate negative effects.
Originality/value
The paper explores the impact of mobile technologies on non‐mobile office staff.
Do professors put in very long workweeks solely out of a love of their work, or do expectations for teaching and publishing essentially require a sixty-hour workweek for the successful completion of the job? How do faculty members reconcile the demands of an academic career with the realities of family life? Drawing on a large national survey of postsecondary faculty conducted in 1998, the authors examine the length of the workweek by analyzing its relationship to faculty dissatisfaction with their workload. The authors find evidence that many professors are dissatisfied with their workload. Moreover, dissatisfaction increases among those working the longest hours. The data also indicate that very long hours on the job greatly contribute to research productivity. The very long hours demanded by faculty jobs thus pose a dilemma for parents who want to spend time with their children and their families. The authors conclude by suggesting that the challenge is to create a set of expectations for academic employment that are compatible with responsible parenting in dual-career couples.
Simple slopes, regions of significance, and confidence bands are commonly used to evaluate interactions in multiple linear regression (MLR) models, and the use of these techniques has recently been extended to multilevel or hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and latent curve analysis (LCA). However, conducting these tests and plotting the conditional relations is often a tedious and error-prone task. This article provides an overview of methods used to probe interaction effects and describes a unified collection of freely available online resources that researchers can use to obtain significance tests for simple slopes, compute regions of significance, and obtain confidence bands for simple slopes across the range of the moderator in the MLR, HLM, and LCA contexts. Plotting capabilities are also provided.
