Digital Communication in and Beyond Organizations—A Path to Hyperinclusion

Abstract

AbstractDigital communication technologies allow organizational members to work independent from time and space (cf. Khan and Agha, 14(4):103–114, 2013: 16). Using this new freedom carefully is advisable, since new expectations on availability may develop interactively (cf. Entschew and Suchanek, 2017: 312; Sydow et al., 2009: 700). The potential development of a self-reinforcing impulse of accelerated communication and an implicit availability demand may lead to a new organizational norm of permanent availability (cf. Entschew and Suchanek, 2017: 312–313; Menz, 2017: 22). This issue became more relevant than ever due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, more and more people work from home using digital communication technologies. For some organizational members, compliance with such demands implies inter-role conflicts since it collides with other commitments (e.g., family responsibilities, community work, recreation, hobbies and leisure). Inter-role conflicts (organizational role vs. family role vs. community role vs. recreational role etc.) occur if there are role expectations placed upon a human such that compliance with one role makes compliance with the other role difficult (cf. Katz and Kahn, 1978/1966: 204). A problem occurs if an organization becomes greedy and (implicitly) requests undivided commitment of its organizational members (cf. Coser, 1974: 4–7). Powerful leaders may drive this: ‘[…] if the leader gets greedy, demanding the same level of urgency every day, the energy will fizzle and performance will sink, despite employees’ heroics’ (Bruch and Menges, 2010: 6). Organizational members potentially become hyperincluded. Hyperinclusion describes the main determination of one’s life through one institution demanding (excessive) role expectations (cf. Erfurt Sandhu, 2014: 176, 188). Accordingly, all other roles of one’s life comply with these (work) demands (e.g., one’s residence, selection of friends, leisure activities). Due to the (potential) development of such scenario, the recommendation of this paper is to institutionalize training on digital literacy as well as on moral discernment in organizations. Training managers and employees to responsibly deal with new freedom through digital communication allows sustainably making use of the advantages, which these technologies offer.KeywordsDigital CommunicationPermanent AvailabilityHyperinclusionMoral Discernment