How does digital office affect overtime through job autonomy in China? A nonlinear mediating model for the autonomy paradox

Abstract

Digital offices that rely on Internet technology have become a typical working mode in the information era, and the coexistence of extended and flexible working hours generally occurs worldwide. However, knowledge of the non-linear relationship between job autonomy and overtime in a digital-working environment is relatively scarce. Based on the autonomy paradox and the too-much-of-a-good-thing theory, this study adopts the China General Social Survey of 2017 data to establish and examine the relationship between digital office, job autonomy, and overtime hours, as well as their potential mechanisms. The results show an inverted U-shaped relationship between digital office level and job autonomy and a positive U-shaped relationship between job autonomy and overtime hours. Moreover, job autonomy plays a non-linear mediating role in the relationship between digital office level and overtime hours. Specifically, with the improvement in the digital office, the marginal effect of the digital office level on overtime hours through its effect on job autonomy decreases. Additionally, this effect may vary due to age, sex, and skill levels. Therefore, as the trend of digitalization and flexibility of the labor process becomes increasingly prominent, the difficulty of statistics and control of working hours also increases. Accurate control over digitalization and autonomy levels has become key to realizing the sustainable and healthy development of digital offices.