A147.
Van Zoonen, W., Sivunen, A.,
& Rice, R. E. (2020). Boundary communication: How smartphone use
after
hours is associated with work-life conflict and organizational
identification. Journal of Applied Communication Research,
48(3), 372-392.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00909882.2020.1755050
This study investigates
how
boundary communication mediates the effects of smartphone use for work
after
hours on work-life conflict and organizational identification. It draws
upon
boundary theory, work-family border theory, and a structurational view
of organizational
identification. The research site was a large Scandinavian company
operating in
the telecommunications industry, with 367 employees responding to a
survey at
two time periods. In contrast to many studies, the use of information
and communication
technologies (here, smartphones) for after-hours work was not
associated with
work-life conflict, but was positively associated with organizational
identification.
However, communication about family demands with one’s supervisor
mediated the
relationship between smartphone use and work-life conflict, whereas
communication about work demands with family did not. Similarly, the
association between smartphone use and organizational identification
was
positively mediated by communication with one’s supervisor about family
demands
on work, but not through communication with family about work demands
on
family.
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