Nonwork Interface Research Articles

HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO? UNDERSTANDING LEISURE-WORK SYNERGIZING AND ITS IMPACT ON EMPLOYEE THRIVING

As the world of work continues to evolve, employees are increasingly seeking to do more than manage the bifurcated domains of work and home. Instead, amid greater demands at work alongside greater valuation of leisure, employees are striving to thrive at work without sacrificing their free time. To explore this tension, we adopt an agentic, blended, and future-oriented perspective of the work–nonwork interface and examine leisure-work synergizing as a unique practice for employees to find synergies between leisure and work. Drawing on Spreitzer et al.’s (2005) model of thriving, we theorize that strategically integrating work into leisure activities in an attempt to build work-relevant competencies can inspire (via self-assurance) and hinder (via fatigue) employee thriving at work. To test these predictions, we first conducted a series of validation studies to demonstrate the conceptual relationship among leisure-work synergizing and other work and non-work constructs. Then, using an experience sampling design, we generally found support for the bolstering effects of leisure-work synergizing on thriving through self-assurance. Moreover, segmentation preference—a theoretical moderator related to this unique boundary blurring practice—significantly influenced the proposed relationship between leisure-work synergizing and fatigue. Taken together, our research expands our understanding of the work–non-work interface and the utility of leisure activities for working adults, integrates work–non-work research with positive psychology to reveal non-work agents of thriving, and highlights a novel blended practice to help scholars and managers better understand how employees can “have their cake and eat it too.”

How remote workers manage loneliness and performance: Virtual social interaction as an alternative resource management strategy

AbstractDrawing on resource‐based theories and the work–nonwork interface perspective, this study examines the full cycle of the resource gain–loss dynamics experienced by remote workers under constrained face‐to‐face personal social interactions. Our proposed model highlights how the lack of personal social interactions, particularly when involuntarily restricted, negatively impacts daily performance through resource loss. We introduce virtual social interaction (VSI) as an alternative source of social support. Using a 5‐day daily diary study with 170 white‐collar employees (n = 620) working remotely during COVID‐19, multilevel path analysis revealed that lack of personal social interactions decreased task performance and helping behavior via loneliness and reduced work resources. Further, we found a resource‐replenishing effect of VSI, when undertaken during work hours, serving as a protective factor against resource loss and poor performance.

Understanding leader–member exchange on job satisfaction: while work interfaces between home and life?

PurposeThis study is aimed at decoding the impact of supportive leadership behavior (leader–member exchange [LMX]) on job satisfaction (JS) through the mediating role of the work–nonwork interface (work-to-nonwork conflict [WNC] and work-to-nonwork enrichment [WNE]), within the work-from-home context in India.Design/methodology/approach Multiphased data collected from 232 full-time working Indian dual-working parents (with one or more children) were analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsOverall, the hypothesized model receives empirical support from the data. LMX positively influenced WNE and simultaneously negatively influenced WNC. WNE, in turn, positively impacted JS, and WNC negatively influenced JS. Results supported only the mediating role of WNE between LMX and JS but not WNC. Women reported greater JS than men, and respondents staying in a joint family reported decreased WNC.Research limitations/implications The current study takes a multiphased, multidomain approach to understand the underlying mechanisms of leadership’s impact while working from home.Practical implications By adopting a tailored approach, organizations can ensure better alignment between employee goals and the desired outcomes of the organization. This entails considering extended family requirements and designing HR interventions and strategies that accommodate the specific challenges faced by dual-working parents.Originality/value This study helps to shed light on the sparsely researched arena of the role of leadership in the work-from-home context, more so for Indian dual-working households. Hence, it makes significant contributions to theory and practice.

Effects of strain on boundary management: findings from a daily diary study and an experimental vignette study.

Transformations in the work-nonwork interface highlight the importance of effectively managing the boundaries between life domains. However, do the ways individuals manage the boundaries between work and nonwork life change from one day to the next? If so, which antecedents may explain these intra-individual fluctuations in boundary management? Drawing on boundary management, spillover, and resource theories, we investigate daily changes in segmentation preferences and integration enactments as a function of experiencing strain in work and nonwork life. Assuming that changes in segmentation preferences reflect an individual's strategy to regulate negative cross-role spillover, we suppose that strain increases individuals' segmentation preferences; at the same time, however, it could force individuals to enact more integration. We test our assumptions with data from two studies with different methodological approaches. The first study uses a daily diary research design (Study 1, 425 participants with 3,238 daily observations) in which full-time professionals rated strain in work and nonwork life, segmentation preferences, and integration enactments every evening for 10 workdays. The second study uses an experimental vignette research design (Study 2, 181 participants), where we experimentally manipulated strain in work and nonwork life and investigated causal effects on participants' hypothetical segmentation preferences. The results of multilevel modeling analyses in Study 1 show that segmentation preferences and integration enactments fluctuate from day to day as a function of strain. More specifically, strain is related to preferring more segmentation but enacting more integration. Study 2 replicates the results of Study 1, showing that strain causally affects segmentation preferences. This two-study paper is one of the first to address daily fluctuations in segmentation preferences and integration enactments, extending our knowledge of temporal dynamics in boundary management. Furthermore, it demonstrates that strain is an antecedent of these daily fluctuations, offering starting points for practical interventions.

Change of productivity loss due to presenteeism among the ageing workforce: Role of work support, workplace discrimination, and the work‐nonwork interface

AbstractPresenteeism behaviour (working while one is ill or experiencing cognitive or emotional difficulties) and the consequent productivity loss are attracting growing attention. Without proper support, employees who are under stress or ill are prone to presenteeism, which incurs invisible burdens on organizations. In this study, we focussed on productivity loss due to presenteeism (PRE) among the ageing workforce, because this group may be more vulnerable to productivity loss due to age‐related deteriorating cognitive functions and physical abilities. We established a longitudinal latent difference score model over a two‐wave period so we could examine whether and how the work–nonwork interface mediates the effects of work support and workplace discrimination (DIS) on PRE. The results showed that the work–nonwork interface fully mediated the positive influence of DIS on PRE as well as the negative influence of supervisor support.

Role Theory Perspectives: Past, Present, and Future Applications of Role Theories in Management Research

Role theories examine how individual behavior is shaped by prevailing social roles and provide insights into how behavior is perceived by others in light of such roles. Current movements for police reform as well as the landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court concerning the employment rights of LGBTQIA individuals have brought conversations concerning roles and their potential impact to the forefront of public discourse. Academic perspectives in management research have aided in building knowledge concerning how roles impact individuals and organizations in a variety of research domains, including entrepreneurship, human resource management, organizational behavior, and strategic management. While the utilization of role theory has gained tremendous momentum over the past two decades, its central tenets are often blurred given that several related but unique perspectives surrounding roles exist in the literature. We trace the origins and development of specific role theories by defining central constructs to bring clarity to the conceptual ambiguities between various role theories and key concepts. Next, we provide an integrative review of empirical role research in management journals over the past 20 years. Here, we identify the five most prominent research themes in the management literature: roles and identity, work–nonwork interface, biases and stereotypes, career life cycles, and ethics and other-oriented behavior. Finally, we provide an agenda for future research that highlights missed opportunities in management research that draws from the key themes identified in our review.

Staying in touch, yet expected to be? A diary study on the relationship between personal smartphone use at work and work–nonwork interaction

The present study challenges the prevalent negative view of personal smartphone use at work and advances our understanding of its effects on the work–nonwork interface. Drawing on border theory, we focus on the social and instrumental feature of smartphones that allows employees to be connected with their private contacts (e.g. friends and family members) while at work and, thereby, test the influence of day‐level personal smartphone use at work on positive and negative work–nonwork interaction (WNI). In considering social experiences of smartphone‐enabled communication, we propose underlying explanatory mechanisms, namely, the social benefits (i.e. feeling in touch with private contacts) and social costs (i.e. feeling expected to respond to private contacts) of communication. One hundred and twenty‐seven employees participated in a diary study. They completed online questionnaires three times a day over ten working days, resulting in a total of 1,066 days of data. Multilevel structural equation modelling indicated that on the day‐level of analysis, personal smartphone use at work promoted positive WNI through the perceived social benefits of communication and increased negative WNI through the perceived social costs of communication. We discuss our findings and extend current research on personal smartphone use at work by acknowledging this widespread workplace behaviour as both beneficial and detrimental for successfully managing the daily interplay of the work and nonwork domains.Practitioner points Personal smartphone use at work should not be classified as exclusively detrimental workplace behaviour, as it can help employees attend to personal responsibilities more easily. For a more comprehensive evaluation of the consequences of personal smartphone use at work, social experiences of communication should be considered when compiling workplace guidelines. Educating employees on how to make the most of personal smartphone use at work and understanding the underlying social mechanisms may help them to better manage work and nonwork responsibilities.

Social Media, Work and Nonwork Interface: A Qualitative Inquiry

Flourishing social media, easy access to smartphones and tablets, and ready availability of the internet in the past decade have made it possible for people to be connected to social media almost anywhere at any time. In this qualitative study, we interviewed 41 individuals in multiple professions in the United Kingdom to examine the role of social media in how they navigate their personal and professional lives. We find social media to be a virtual domain that has boundaries with nonvirtual personal and professional domains. Focusing on spatial and temporal boundaries, our findings revealed four boundary transition modes employees used to switch between the social media domain and their work and nonwork domains: boundary switch avoidance; disciplined boundary switch; integrated boundary switch; and boundary switch addiction. We also describe 15 mechanisms through which engaging with social media platforms enriches or conflicts with individuals’ personal and professional lives. Our findings extend work‐nonwork scholarship and boundary theory to include virtual as well as nonvirtual domains.

Whole-Life Career Self-Management: A Conceptual Framework

Contemporary careers require flexible career self-management across the life span that takes work and nonwork roles into account. However, existing models of career self-management do not focus on how work and nonwork life domains interact in this process and work–life research largely neglected a careers perspective. To address this issue, we present a new theoretical framework of career self-management that considers the intersection of work and nonwork roles. Our model integrates insights from career self-management, action regulation, and the work–nonwork interface to propose how goals, action plans, and behaviors across work and nonwork roles are dynamically linked and how these processes lead to career satisfaction, work–life balance, and psychological well-being, affected by contextual and personal role expectations and resources and barriers. Our framework has implications for the theoretical understanding of career self-management, the work–life interface, a whole-life perspective on career development, and contextual factors in career development across the life span.

Calling as a double-edged sword for work-nonwork enrichment and conflict among older workers

Having a calling has been linked to various positive outcomes, but the potential negative effects of having a calling have not yet received comparable attention. Moreover, research thus far has neglected to examine how callings affect the work–nonwork interface. Based on the work–home resources model, and work–family enrichment theory, we presumed that having a calling can increase as well as deplete personal resources at work, which, in turn, promote work–nonwork enrichment and conflict among older workers. We investigated these assumptions among 599 employees, aged between 50 and 60 years, by examining within-individual changes in presence of calling, positive affect at work, workaholism, work–nonwork enrichment, and work–nonwork conflict over a period of one year, with two measurement points. Results indicated that an increase in the presence of a calling was positively related to increased levels of positive affect at work, which, in turn, was positively related to increased work–nonwork enrichment. However, an increase in the presence of a calling was also positively related to increased workaholism, which was positively related to increased work–nonwork conflict. The findings suggest that having a calling is meaningfully related to the work–nonwork interface among older workers in both positive and negative ways.

Networking as predictor of work-nonwork enrichment: Mechanisms on the within- and between-person level

A positive work–nonwork interface is an important aspect of successful career development because it is associated with satisfaction, positive health, and positive work outcomes. However, the role of proactive behaviors at work for work–nonwork enrichment mechanisms has thus far not received much attention. Based on the conservation of resource theory (Hobfoll, 1989) and work–family enrichment theory (Greenhaus & Powell, 2006), we investigated the instrumental (i.e., coworker support) and affective (i.e., positive affect at work) enrichment mechanisms facilitated by networking. We conducted a diary study for within-person effects and a longitudinal panel study for between-person effects. Results supported the notion that networking is positively related to coworker support and positive affect at work on both the within- and between-person level. Furthermore, the mediating effect of coworker support for the relation between networking and work–nonwork enrichment on the within-person level was supported. On the between-person level, the mediating effect through positive affect at work was supported. Implications for research and practice concerning the resources gained by networking and the different work–nonwork enrichment mechanisms on the within- and between-person levels are discussed.

Half a Century of Work–Nonwork Interface Research: A Review and Taxonomy of Terminologies

The extensive interest in the work‐nonwork interface over the years has allowed scholars from multiple disciplines to contribute to this literature and to shed light on how professional and personal lives are related. In this paper, we have identified 48 terminologies that describe the interface or relationship between work and nonwork, and have organised them into mature, intermediate, and immature categories according to their stage of development and theoretical grounding. We also provide a taxonomy that places work‐nonwork interface terminologies into a matrix of six cells based on two dimensions: (1) type of nonwork being narrow or broad; and (2) nature of the mutual impact of work and nonwork domains on one another, characterising the impact as negative, positive, or balanced. The type of nonwork dimension was informed by Frone’s (2003) classification of employees’ lives into multiple subdomains; the mutual impact dimension was informed by frameworks that organised the literature in part by negative, positive, and balanced work‐nonwork interface constructs (e.g., Allen, 2012; Greenhaus & Allen, 2011). Theoretical contributions of the proposed taxonomy are discussed along with suggestions on important avenues for future research.

Keeping work and private life apart: Age‐related differences in managing the work–nonwork interface

SummaryInitial evidence suggests that older workers enjoy higher work–life balance than young workers. Yet little is known about the mechanisms of this effect or the robustness of age differences when accounting for differences in life context. We introduce and test the boundary management account of aging and work–life balance, which suggests that older workers maintain stronger work–nonwork boundaries as a pathway toward work–life balance. Both in Study 1 (cross‐sectional; N = 298 bank employees) and in Study 2 (aggregated diary entries; N = 608 workers), older workers reported better work–life balance and stronger boundaries at work than young workers; and stronger boundaries at home (Study 1). In both studies, stronger boundaries were related to better work–life balance, and boundary strength mediated the relationship between age and work–life balance. Study 2 additionally suggests that the use of boundary management strategies is responsible for stronger boundaries at higher age. Analyses accounted for differences in family and work context characteristics (both studies) and boundary preferences (Study 1). The findings corroborate evidence of older workers' enhanced work–life balance and suggest that it results from more successful boundary management with age rather than merely from changes in contextual factors or boundary preferences.

Resilience: A Review Using a Grounded Integrated Occupational Approach

Resilience, the ability to adapt to adversity and endure job demands, is growing in prominence in the management literature with limited regard to occupational influences. Often examined at the individual level with fragmented conceptualizations, it can be a trait, capacity, or a process. We conduct a review of (1) management studies and (2) content from O*NET for 11 occupations and disciplinary studies taking a grounded approach to synthesize themes to develop an integrated occupational resilience framework. Our review suggests that resilience is individually and occupationally determined as part of a multi-level system. Our review shows that specific occupational tasks and contextual demands imply different connotations of what exactly “resilience” means and how contexts may constrain or foster resiliency. Occupational resilience involves (1) multiple conceptual strands related to accessing resources (trait, capacity, and processes); (2) positive and negative triggers that are occupationally distinguished; (3) different resilience types (cognitive, emotional, and physical) that vary in need, breadth, and importance across occupations; (4) a dynamic phenomenon that occurs within and across career stages; (5) both content-general, and job-specific occupational tensions; and (6) work and nonwork domains. Multi-level occupational-specific and comparative studies, adaptive performance and risk taking across the work–nonwork interface are highlighted areas for future research.

Blurring Boundaries? The impact of trust-based working time on the work / non-work interface

Vertrauensarbeitszeit ermoglicht Beschaftigten eine weitgehend freie Einteilung ihrer Arbeitszeit und oft mals die teilweise Erledigung ihrer Arbeit im Homeoffice. Was aber sind die Auswirkungen auf Privat- und Arbeitsleben sowie deren Interaktion? Unsere Studie zeigt, dass bei Vertrauensarbeitszeitlern, im Vergleich zu Beschaft igten mit anderen Arbeitszeitmodellen, die Grenzen zwischen Arbeits- und Privatleben starker verschwimmen. Die Durchlassigkeit der Grenzen weist jedoch eine Asymmetrie auf: Arbeit wird wesentlich starker ins Privatleben integriert als umgekehrt. Ganz im Widerspruch hierzu finden es Beschaft igte unabhangig vom Arbeitszeitmodell wichtiger, Arbeitsinhalte aus dem Privatleben herauszuhalten als umgekehrt. Wir beleuchten, welche Faktoren (z. B. Uberstunden, betriebliche Erreichbarkeitskultur und Autonomie) das Verschwimmen dieser Grenzen beeinfl ussen. Mediationsanalysen zeigen, dass der Zusammenhang zwischen Vertrauensarbeitszeit und der geringeren Trennung von Arbeit aus dem Privatleben entsteht durch individuelle Praferenzen und Normen, auch am Abend oder Wochenende fur den Arbeitgeber erreichbar zu sein.

A New Look into the Dynamic Work Life in A Mobile Era

Individuals’ everyday work life is dynamic and investigating the dynamics of work life has been recognized as critical in organizational research. In this symposium, we advance this line of research by presenting four empirical studies explored the same phenomenon (i.e., within-day dynamics of work life). These studies developed and examined four reciprocal models on within-day dynamics of work life across different situations (e.g., work and non-work interface, and inter-person interactions), different countries (China, Germany and Singapore) as well as different samples (leader-member dyads, dual-earner couples, registered nurses and students). Using a total of above 10,000 observations collected from 605 participants, these studies have broken new ground with respect to the episodic process of leader-member interactions, the spillover-crossover and reciprocal process between work and non-work experiences. By integrating and discussing the insights of these four papers, this symposium will contribute to a thorough and refined understanding of the dynamic process of everyday work life across different domain, provide empirical support and theoretical extensions of several extant theories on dynamic work life, and identify key future research needs and directions. Employees and managers may benefit from the findings in performance management, work-family enrichment, and building leader-member relationship and sustainable positive affect and energy. Reciprocal Relations between Recovery and Positive Affect: A Dual-Process Model Presenter: Jinlong Zhu; National U. of Singapore Presenter: Nan Wang; National U. of Singapore Leader and Member's Interactional Experiences and Leader Member Exchange Presenter: Xian Li; National U. of Singapore Presenter: Zhaoli Song; National U. of Singapore Presenter: Wu Liu; Hong Kong Polytechnic U. Presenter: Zhenyu Liao; National U. of Singapore The Dynamics of Momentary Performance: Developing and Testing a Reciprocal Model Presenter: Zhaoli Song; National U. of Singapore Presenter: Jinlong Zhu; National U. of Singapore Presenter: Seang Mei Saw; National U. of Singapore Presenter: Eric Andrew Finkelstein; National U. of Singapore Presenter: Vicki Drury; Educare Consulting Personal Recognition and Positive Affect Spillover and Crossover among Dual-earner Couples Presenter: Christian Dormann; Johannes Gutenberg-U. Mainz Presenter: Nan Wang; National U. of Singapore Presenter: Zhaoli Song; National U. of Singapore

I Cannot Afford to Have a Life: Employee Adaptation to Feelings of Job Insecurity

This study examines the links between employee perceptions of job insecurity, the work–nonwork interface, and stress‐related outcomes. Drawing on an adaptation perspective, we expect employees feeling greater job insecurity to engage in adaptive work behaviors including less use of work–nonwork support programs and greater willingness to let work permeate into one's personal life, which in turn will associate with greater work–nonwork conflict and emotional exhaustion. Data were collected from employees within a large energy company at 2 points in time. Results support the model, offering important insights into employee behavioral responses to job insecurity and key mechanisms through which insecurity may foster diminished employee well‐being.

Moving Toward a Better Understanding of the Work and Nonwork Interface

Given the growing popularity of work–life and work–family issues in organizations and society in general, we were pleased to see Kossek, Baltes, and Matthews (2011) highlight at least two deficiencies that abound in the literature on the interface between work and nonwork demands. Specifically, Kossek et al. indicate that this area of research suffers from misguided assumptions regarding the universality of work and nonwork demands and inadequate framing of the interaction between the work and nonwork interface. Here, we outline some points of agreement with Kossek and colleagues, as well as where our perspectives and conclusions diverge. Finally, we discuss how our interpretation of these issues may lead to a fifth path to facilitate research and practice in the work and nonwork interface.

Different strategies for managing the work non-work interface: A test for unique pathways to work outcomes

Scientific evidence linking employers' efforts to help workers to manage the work non-work interface to actual outcomes at work remains scarce. In this study of 200 women employed in a Canadian school district, a research model was devised to explain how two strategies for managing the interface may affect stress symptoms, absenteeism and turnover intention. Several features distinguish this model from earlier models of the work non-work interface. That is, two directions of work non-work conflict, a mediator between the strategies and work outcomes, are specified, each strategy is set to relate directly to only one direction of conflict, and each direction is set to relate directly to stress symptoms and either absenteeism or turnover intention. LISREL analysis supported the superiority of the research model to a general model incorporating more common conceptualizations of the work non-work interface.