The Influence of Work Connectivity Behavior After-Hour on Satisfaction With Work-Family Balance: A Moderated Mediation Model

Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2019, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4) : 942-948.

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PDF(634 KB)
Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2019, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (4) : 942-948.

The Influence of Work Connectivity Behavior After-Hour on Satisfaction With Work-Family Balance: A Moderated Mediation Model

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Abstract

Over the last decade, segmented perceptions (e.g., conflict, enrichment, and facilitation) of work–family balance have received extensive attention from scholars in research , yet far less attention has been put to the comprehensive state of work-family balance, such as satisfaction with work-family balance(SWFB).SWFB is defined as an overall level of contentment resulting from an assessment of one's degree of success at meeting work and family role demands. Previous studies examined the antecedents of SWFB that were mostly narrowly defined in terms of job characteristics such as work hours, job complexity and control over work time hours. However, the development of communication technology changes job characteristics, and new job characteristics create new challenges for work-family balance. In order to make up for this research gap, we built a moderated mediation model which is based on the work-family boundary theory. We investigated the effects of work connectivity behavior after-hours on SWFB. Moreover, the mediating role of psychological detachment and the moderating role of work-family centrality were examined. In this study, we explored the theoretical framework by using the data of married employees and have fixed working hours in Wenzhou and Hangzhou. The data was collected through paper questionnaires and electronic questionnaires. In order to reduce the homologous error, the questionnaire survey was conducted using the couple-matching approach, and a total of 237 valid matching questionnaires were retrieved. We first used Harman's univariate analysis for common method bias testing , and AMOS 21.0 for confirmatory factor analysis, then use hierarchical regression and Bootstrap for hypothesis testing. The results showed that: (1) work connectivity behavior after-hours was negatively related to SWFB; (2) Such relationship was partially mediated by psychological detachment; (3) Work-family centrality moderated the relationship between work connectivity behavior after-hours and SWFB, such that this relationship was only significant when work-family centrality was high. Our findings provide some theoretical and practical implications. Firstly, this research broadens the research of SWFB in China. The previous mainly focused on SWFB in the west context, thus ours made up for the research gap. Secondly,this research enriches the understanding of several emerging constructs, such as work connectivity behavior after-hours, psychological detachment and SWFB. Thirdly, through exploring the moderating role of work-family centrality, this study offers a more comprehensive view that employees’ work connectivity behavior after-hours are more likely to reduce SWFB. Beyond the theoretical implications highlighted above, there are a number of practical strategies that organizations can use to increase employees’ SWFB. Firstly, it’s necessary for organizations to counter the negative effects of communication technology, while they use communication technology to increase work efficiency. Secondly, due to the importance of psychological detachment, organizations should protect employees' leisure time to provide a better emotional state to work and improve their work performance. In addition, because of the influence of work-family centrality, employees can shorten the time or frequency of their work connectivity behavior after-hour. Inevitably, there are still some limitations. Finally, we recommend that subsequent studies be performed to examine the crossover effects of work connectivity behavior after-hours.

Key words

work connectivity behavior after-hour / psychological detachment / satisfaction with work-family balance(SWFB) / work-family centrality

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The Influence of Work Connectivity Behavior After-Hour on Satisfaction With Work-Family Balance: A Moderated Mediation Model[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2019, 42(4): 942-948
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