Are the Effects of Work-related Extended Availability the Same for Everyone?

Work-related extended availability, psychological detachment, and interindividual differences: A cross-lagged panel study

“…Following PE-fit theory, we hypothesized that the positive relationship between WREA and sleep problems as well as exhaustion may be stronger the higher a person's preference for segmentation. Although, there is cross-sectional research (Thörel et al, 2020a;Xie et al, 2018) that suggests segmentation preferences may influence the relationship between WREA and health outcomes, we could not find any such evidence in our sample. If at all, segmentation preferences may be more relevant as a moderator for the momentary effects of WREA: In a given situation, a person who prefers segmenting work and private life might feel more pressured or upset when accepting a work-related contact during leisure time than someone who prefers integrating the two domains.…”

“…On the other hand, individuals with higher segmentation preferences may feel exhausted by being confronted with work matters during their leisure time because it is against their natural inclination. As mentioned above, Xie et al (2018) and Thörel et al (2020a) did find a moderator effect in the relationship between availability behaviors and emotional exhaustion. However, these results are based on cross-sectional data, and it is unknown whether these effects hold up with cross-lagged research designs.…”

“…The experience of stress rouses psychophysiological reactions and activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, thereby disrupting sleep (Han et al, 2012). Thörel et al (2020a) provided preliminary evidence for the importance of segmentation preferences in the relationship between WREA and sleep problems. Their study showed an interaction between WREA and segmentation preferences on sleep problems.…”

“…Particularly segmentation preferences, the preference to either separate or integrate work and private life, may be relevant in this respect. Previously, two studies (Thörel et al, 2020a;Xie et al, 2018) found segmentation preferences to moderate the association between availability behaviors and emotional exhaustion. However, Piszczek (2017) failed to find a moderator effect for segmentation preferences in his study.…”

Why people engage in supplemental work: The role of technology, response expectations, and communication persistence

“…Notably, most of these studies implicitly reference TASW while actually capturing the frequency (e.g., Boswell & Olson‐Buchanan, 2007; Park et al, 2011) extent (e.g., Diaz et al, 2012), duration (e.g., Wright et al, 2014), or timing (Richardson & Benbunan‐Fich, 2011) of ICT use after hours, failing to address the extent to which these technologies are used to actually perform work and complete work‐related tasks outside regular work hours (Fenner & Renn, 2010). Another concern is that previous work mostly covers extended availability and connectivity (Dery et al, 2014; Mazmanian et al, 2013; Thörel et al, 2020) rather than supplemental work practices. Though escalating connectivity to work is becoming increasingly common, contemporary work may present connectivity demands (Nurmi & Hinds, 2020) that require employees to go beyond merely signaling availability or monitoring email messages (Thörel et al, 2020) and engage in more substantial work tasks after hours (Gadeyne et al, 2018).…”