When thinking about work makes employees reach for their devices: a longitudinal autoregressive diary study
- Based on the stressor-detachment model, previous research has assumed that work-related ICT use in the evening impairs psychological detachment. However, since most of the studies to date have assessed cross-sectional relationships, little is known about the actual direction of effects. In this 5-day diary study, we implemented a day-level longitudinal model to shed light on the causal relationships between work-related ICT use, detachment, and task progress (N = 340 employees, N = 1289 day-level cases). We also investigated the role of unfinished work tasks because we assumed, based on boundary theory, that they are a driving force leading to impaired detachment and work-related ICT use in the evening. Contrary to current research consensus but in line with our expectations, we found that low psychological detachment increased work-related ICT use and task progress. We found no evidence for reversed lagged effects. These results applied both to planned and unplanned ICT use. Furthermore, our results support the notion that unfinished work tasks precede ICT use and detachment. Thus, our findings suggest that work-related ICT use should not be treated as a stressor in its own right in the stressor-detachment model. Instead, it needs to be investigated as a behavioral outcome that employees engage in when they cannot detach from work.
Author: | Clara Charlotte Heißler, Marcel KernORCiDGND, Sandra OhlyORCiDGND |
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URN: | urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-695951 |
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-021-09781-0 |
ISSN: | 1573-353X |
Parent Title (English): | Journal of business and psychology |
Publisher: | Springer Science + Business Media B.V |
Place of publication: | Dordrecht [u.a.] |
Document Type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of Publication (online): | 2022/01/28 |
Date of first Publication: | 2022/01/28 |
Publishing Institution: | Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg |
Release Date: | 2023/10/12 |
Tag: | Detachment; Diary study; ICT use; Longitudinal autoregressive model; Supplemental work; Technology; Unfinished tasks; Work-related technology use |
Volume: | 37 |
Issue: | 5 |
Page Number: | 18 |
First Page: | 999 |
Last Page: | 1016 |
Note: | Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. |
HeBIS-PPN: | 515064513 |
Institutes: | Psychologie und Sportwissenschaften |
Dewey Decimal Classification: | 1 Philosophie und Psychologie / 15 Psychologie / 150 Psychologie |
3 Sozialwissenschaften / 33 Wirtschaft / 330 Wirtschaft | |
Sammlungen: | Universitätspublikationen |
Licence (German): | Creative Commons - CC BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |