The Janus face of after-hours work-related interruptions: A daily investigation of their influence on leader behaviour

Abstract

Leaders play a pivotal role in organizational functioning, underscoring the importance of understanding the factors that shape their behaviour. Yet prior research on boundary-crossing experiences has largely emphasized their harmful consequences for leader behaviour, resulting in a fragmented, harm-dominated understanding that overlooks positive, adaptive processes. Drawing on work–family border theory and the dual-pathway model, we integrate passive emotional and adaptive cognitive pathways, suggesting that after-hours work interruptions evoke both negative affect and task reflexivity, which in turn lead to dysfunctional (abusive supervision) and functional (initiating structure) leader behaviours the following day. Furthermore, we propose that two related individual differences—boundary flexibility-ability and boundary flexibility-willingness—strengthen the positive relationship between after-hours work interruptions and task reflexivity, while attenuating the relationship between after-hours work interruptions and negative affect. Across two experience-sampling studies, we found support for these hypotheses. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our research for work interruptions experienced during off-work time and leader behaviours at work.