The dilemma of connectivity to work: investigating the impact of constant connectivity to work on psychological well-being of employees
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7433/s128.2025.03Keywords:
Constant Connectivity Work-life Conflict, Psychological Well-Being, employee well-being, Digital Devices, Boundary management theoryAbstract
Purpose of the paper: This study explores the effects of constant connectivity enabled via digital devices on an employee's psychological well-being and work-life conflict.
Methodology: The data has been collected from the IT companies operating in India. Structural equation modelling has been used to examine the relationship between constant connectivity to work during non-work hours, employee psychological well-being, and the mediating role of the work-life conflict. Further, multi-group analysis is used to examine the roles of different boundary management practices
Findings: The employees who are constantly connected to work in the post-work hours tend to have increased levels of inter-domain conflict and reduced levels of psychological well-being. Furthermore, employees following different boundary practices have different level of constant connectivity, work-life conflict and psychological well-being.
Research limits: The study does not consider different connectivity and boundary behavior with respect to different mobile applications. In addition, different sectors might report varied levels of connectivity, suggesting a need to explore the underlaying variables in different organizational contexts.
Practical implications: The findings of this study help us understand how employees should regulate their digital devices usage after work at the individual level, which will promote psychological detachment, govern the level of work-life conflict and efficient management of boundaries.
Originality of the paper: The study expands the knowledge base of understanding the impact of digital devices on employee psychological well-being, work-life conflict and boundary enactment, which is scarce in human-computer interaction literature.
References
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