Time to Disentangle the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Constructs: Developing a Taxonomy around ICT Use for Occupational Health Research

I Do Not Want to Miss a Thing! Consequences of Employees' Workplace Fear of Missing Out for ICT Use, Well-Being, and Recovery Experiences

As more and more employees have access to work-related information and communication technologies (ICTs) anywhere and anytime, new challenges arise in terms of well-being and recovery experiences. Feelings of workplace fear of missing Out (wFoMO) and workplace telepressure may be personal demands that add to the literature of the job demands-resources (JD-R) theory. In this study, we proposed a model in which wFoMO and workplace telepressure were associated with employee well-being variables via the use of ICTs during leisure time. Therefore, we analyzed the data of N = 130 employees who answered two questionnaires in the interval of one work week. The results revealed negative indirect effects between wFoMO/workplace telepressure and psychological detachment/perceived stress via ICT use. The results were more ambivalent regarding the dependent variables burnout, relaxation, and control. This strengthens the literature that categorized ICT use as a job demand. However, we also found positive indirect effects on perceived informational benefits, which supports the idea of ICTs being both a job demand and a job resource in light of the JD-R theory. This study contributes to past research on work-related ICT use during leisure time and demonstrates the relevance of personal demands such as wFoMO for employees' well-being.

An Episodic Process Model of After-Hour ICT-Related Interruptions at Home

As remote and hybrid work become mainstream, after-hour interruptions from work into personal life (i.e., boundary violations) via information communicative technology will become even more prevalent. These interruptions trigger employees to suddenly disengage from their nonwork roles and reengage in work (i.e., interrole transitions), which can translate into adverse work and well-being outcomes for employees. It is critical to study after-hour ICT-related interruptions to ensure employees can effectively perform in both their work and nonwork spheres. Although there is a substantial knowledge base for boundary violations and interrole transitions, we have limited understanding of the mechanisms through which these experiences affect individuals on a daily basis. The present study builds on boundary theory with a comprehensive qualitative investigation of the boundary violation-interrole transition process and development of an episodic process model grounded in data. Using the event reconstruction method, employee experiences with after-hour ICT-related interruptions were deeply explored. Content analysis revealed defining features and underlying mechanisms of the boundary violation-interrole transition process and the interrelationships of these mechanisms, facilitating the development of an episodic model with testable propositions for future boundary research. The results suggest that after-hour ICT-related interruptions are a particular type of perceived work-family incompatibility that can be problematic for employees, thereby advancing work-family theory. As these interruptions cannot be eliminated and will increase as more employees work remotely, the results and proposed model can inform the design of organizational interventions intended to mitigate the negative effects of interruptions on employees’ daily lives.

Keeping Up With Work Email After Hours and Employee Wellbeing: Examining Relationships During and Prior to the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many employees to work from home (WFH) and more heavily rely on technology to conduct work, calling for further empirical investigation into the effects of work-related technology and the WFH environment on employee wellbeing. This study investigates the relationship between work-related email (WRE) use during nonwork hours and emotional exhaustion in a sample of U.S. employees required to WFH during the pandemic, with results suggesting that psychological detachment and work-family conflict (WFC) play important roles in this relationship. Furthermore, telepressure (i.e., the preoccupation/urge to promptly respond to WRE) moderated the relationship between WRE use and psychological detachment, which offers insight into the psychological processes behind WRE use after hours. Direct and indirect effects between WRE use and emotional exhaustion were also compared to effects generated using data from an independent sample of pre-pandemic in-office employees to determine whether the pandemic context has amplified the observed relationships. Results show that all direct/indirect effects, except for the effect of WRE use after hours on psychological detachment, were stronger in those required to WFH. These findings shed light onto the similarities and differences between the current and pre-pandemic work landscapes and have important implications for lawmakers, organizational leaders, and employees.

Digitalisation and work well-being: a qualitative study of techno-work engagement experiences related to the use of educational technology

Purpose

The study explores techno-work engagement, which is a positive and fulfilling state of well-being with respect to the use of digital technology at work. It provides insight into the circumstances in which the educational use of ICT enhances work well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 60 Finns from the education sector wrote descriptions of situations in which they experienced techno-work engagement related to the use of educational technology. The responses were analysed qualitatively.

Findings

Participants experienced techno-work engagement not only when educational technology facilitated work, enabled progress and produced novelty value but also when working in collaboration and in a positive climate.

Originality/value

This first qualitative study of techno-work engagement deepens the understanding of positive well-being experiences associated with the use of educational technology. It also provides suggestions for leading technology-related work well-being in educational sector.

Can Leaders Prevent Technology From Backfiring? Empowering Leadership as a Double-Edged Sword for Technostress in Care

Purpose: Recent studies have called for more contextual studies of technostress and the role leaders can have in this experience. While technostress is an increasingly prevalent and severe phenomenon in care professions, limited studies have addressed its potential negative consequences for employee well-being and quality of care delivered in this sector or, more importantly, examined how the adverse consequences of technostress could be mitigated. Therefore, the present study addresses this gap by investigating how technostress in childcare affects quality of care delivered via emotional exhaustion and what influence empowering leadership plays in this relationship. Design/methodology approach: Incorporating the views of 339 Dutch childcare workers, this study tests a model in which technostress influences quality of care delivered, mediated by emotional exhaustion and moderated by empowering leadership. Findings: Results confirm that techno-invasion and techno-overload predict higher emotional exhaustion and lower quality of care delivered among childcare workers. Empowering leadership reduced the influence of techno-invasion on emotional exhaustion but strengthened the influence of techno-overload. Originality/value: Our results provide childcare organizations with relevant information on the increasing use of ICT that influences both childcare workers' well-being and quality of care they deliver. Important implications are suggested for leadership geared at stimulating employees' responsibility and accountability for different dimensions of technostress.