Availability Exceptions and Technology Use After-Hours and the Role of Boundary Control for Work-Life Outcomes

Abstract

Advancements in communication technology have led to a more boundaryless relationship between work and non-work life for contemporary workers. Technology use after-hours proposes a flexibility-paradox, where workers are granted with flexibility to perform work at their own convenience, but at the same time feel a constant pressure to be connected to the workplace. The individual’s perceived control over work-life boundaries had been argued to determine whether technology use after-hours will be negatively or positively related to work-life outcomes. This thesis explores in particular the role of perceived boundary control in the relationship between work connectivity behavior afterhours, respectively, and job satisfaction, turnover intention, relaxation, and psychological detachment. Data has been collected from three Norwegian organizations through a self-completion questionnaire distributed in two waves. The analyses are based on data from 67 respondents. The results of this study found that when individuals feel that they have low control over work-life boundaries, they have lower job satisfaction, higher turnover intention, and are less able to psychologically detach from work than do individuals with high perceived boundary control. The results also indicate that individuals who frequently use technology after-hours find it harder to psychologically detach from work.