Abstract
Today’s work environment is shaped by the electronic age. Smartphones are important tools that allow employees to work anywhere and anytime. The aim of this diary study was to examine daily smartphone use after and during work and their association with psychological detachment (in the home domain) and work engagement (in the work domain), respectively. We explored whether workplace telepressure, which is a strong urge to respond to work-related messages and a preoccupation with quick response times, promotes smartphone use. Furthermore, we hypothesized that employees experiencing high workplace telepressure would have more trouble letting go of the workday during the evening and feel less engaged during their workday to the extent that they use their smartphone more intensively across domains. A total of 116 employees using their smartphones for work-related purposes completed diary questionnaires on five workdays (N = 476 data points) assessing their work-related smartphone use, psychological detachment after work, and engagement during work. Workplace telepressure was measured as a between-individual variable and only assessed at the beginning of the study, as well as relevant control variables such as participants’ workload and segmentation preference (a preference for work and home domains to be as segmented as possible). Multilevel path analyses revealed that work-related smartphone use after work was negatively related to psychological detachment irrespective of employees’ experienced workplace telepressure, and daily smartphone use during work was unrelated to work engagement. Supporting our hypothesis, employees who reported high telepressure experienced less work engagement on days that they used their smartphone more intensively during work. Altogether, intensive smartphone use after work hampers employees’ psychological detachment, whereas intensive smartphone use during work undermines their work engagement only when employees experience high workplace telepressure as well. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
Highlights
Communication technology has an ubiquitous role in our daily working lives: many employees cannot perform their job without using computer facilities
We propose that high workplace telepressure will strengthen the negative relationship between work-related smartphone use and psychological detachment at home
The present study aims to add to this line of research by simultaneously examining daily work-related smartphone use during off-job hours and during work hours
Summary
Communication technology has an ubiquitous role in our daily working lives: many employees cannot perform their job without using computer facilities. Research has shown that employees tend to have more trouble detaching form work when they use their smartphone for work during off-job hours (Derks et al, 2014), it is possible that especially employees who experience high workplace telepressure are unable to mentally switch of work when intensively using their smartphone after work These employees are involved in work activities when using their smartphone but they are constantly alert to receiving and responding to other work-related emails that might arrive. High workplace telepressure can stem from external pressures (e.g., prescriptive norms) or disadvantageous internal pressures (neuroticism, workaholism, low self-control) These pressures reflect job and personal demands, respectively, rather than resources and will negatively impact the relationship between employee smartphone use and work engagement. We hypothesize: Hypothesis 3: Daily work-related smartphone use during work is negatively related to daily work engagement for individuals experiencing high workplace telepressure (a) and positively related to day-level work engagement for individuals experiencing low workplace telepressure (b)
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