Communication Technology and Social Support to Navigate Work/Life Conflict During Covid-19 and Beyond

Abstract

Drawing on a national survey of 447 U.S. workers who transitioned to remote work during COVID-19, this study examined how different types of communication technologies (CTs) used for work and private life were associated with work/life conflicts and perceptions of social support across different relationship types (coworker, family, and friends). Findings indicated that work/life conflicts became aggravated when the use of CTs violated relational norms (e.g., mobile texting with coworkers and emailing with family and friends). On the other hand, uses of CTs that were perceived to offer access to social support (e.g., instant messaging with coworkers and friends) were related to lower work/life conflict. Social media (e.g., Facebook) had a direct relationship to higher work/life conflict, but an indirect relationship to lower work/life conflict through social support. Overall, findings suggest that individuals attempt to create work/life boundaries by selecting specific CTs when physical work/life boundaries are collapsed.

Linking interacting/engaging environmental CSR communication strategy and employees' pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs): mediating roles of communal relationship and employee empowerment

“…The findings of this study provide much-needed theoretical and practical implications for motivating employees' eco-friendly behaviors at work, particularly in the post-COVID-19 era. During the pandemic, employees faced a transformed work mode that relies heavily on internet-mediated communication and collaboration, resulting in chronic blurring of work-life boundaries, Zoom fatigue and increased psychological stress (Bullock et al , 2022; Deutrom et al , 2022; Shin et al , 2023). Thus, employees expect to step back from their work to recover from such a changed work reality that it has brought them physical and psychological challenges (Ng and Stanton, 2023).…”