The mixed blessing of work connectivity demands: Self-regulatory focus as a moderator

Due to the rapid development of information and communication technologies, employees increasingly feel pressure to engage in work connectivity behavior after regular working hours (WCBA), giving rise to a novel form of job demand known as WCBA demands. This research examined the upside and downside of WCBA demands. Specifically, we defined WCBA demands as stressors that can be appraised by employees as challenges and/or threats. Challenge appraisals are related to job involvement, which in turn leads to job satisfaction and job performance; threat appraisals are related to job-induced tension, which in turn leads to family dissatisfaction and family incivility. We also examine regulatory focus as a boundary condition underlying the challenge-threat paradox of WCBA demands. To test the relationships among our hypotheses, we conducted a daily diary survey study of 176 employee-supervisor-spouse triads across five consecutive workdays. The findings show that employees with higher levels of promotion focus were more likely to appraise WCBA demands as challenges, which improved their work outcomes via increased job involvement. Employees with higher levels of prevention focus appraised WCBA demands as threats, which undermined their family outcomes via job-induced tension. Since these findings assume that WCBA demands act as stressors, we conducted a supplemental qualitative study (N = 19) confirming that employees commonly perceive WCBA demands as stressors. The implications for theory and research are discussed.