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Work-related technoference at home and feelings of work spillover, overload, life satisfaction and job satisfaction

Brandon T. McDaniel (Health Services and Informatics Research, Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA)
Kimberly O'Connor (Organizational Leadership, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA)
Michelle Drouin (Psychology, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA) (Health Services and Informatics Research, Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovation, Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA)

International Journal of Workplace Health Management

ISSN: 1753-8351

Article publication date: 29 July 2021

Issue publication date: 4 November 2021

962

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine whether work-related technology use outside of work and around family members could produce technoference or phubbing, where time spent with family members is interrupted by or intruded upon by technology use. The authors also examined its impact on work-to-family spillover, feelings of overload, life satisfaction and job satisfaction for workers.

Design/methodology/approach

Via an online survey, the authors assessed the frequency of technoference due to work, work-to-family spillover, feelings of overload, life satisfaction and job satisfaction. The authors’ analytic sample included US parents (95 fathers and 88 mothers) who worked for pay and experienced technoference in their relationships, which was at least sometimes due to work.

Findings

Results reveal possible impacts of technoference related to work on employee feelings of work-to-family spillover, greater feelings of overload, lower life satisfaction and lower job satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

Data are from a cross-sectional online survey, and results are correlational. Although the authors have theoretical/conceptual evidence for the impacts of technoference, it is possible that the direction of effects could be reversed or even bidirectional. Experimental/intervention work could further examine whether changes in technology use at home due to work improve employee well-being.

Practical implications

The authors’ findings suggest that organizational policies which promote healthy boundaries and work-life balance are likely fundamental to employee well-being and that employers should be mindful of employees' work-related technology use at home.

Originality/value

This study examines technoference and phubbing due to work while at home, as opposed to focusing on the at-work context.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the families who participated in this research, as well as the research assistants who made all of this recruitment and data collection possible. The authors would also like to acknowledge the College of Health and Human Development, the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, as well as the Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at The Pennsylvania State University which awarded research funds to the first author to complete this research. This research was also supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (T32DA017629) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (F31HD084118). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of Parkview Health, the university or the National Institutes of Health.

Citation

McDaniel, B.T., O'Connor, K. and Drouin, M. (2021), "Work-related technoference at home and feelings of work spillover, overload, life satisfaction and job satisfaction", International Journal of Workplace Health Management, Vol. 14 No. 5, pp. 526-541. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-11-2020-0197

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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