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Editorial verdict
Methodologically sound meta-analysis with important caveats: the conflict finding is robust across 34 studies, but the enrichment and balance findings rest on very few studies and should be treated with caution until replicated.
Executive summary
This study addresses the growing phenomenon of ICT-assisted after-hours work and its relationship with work–family/life management variables, specifically conflict, enrichment, and balance. The authors — Santos, Roberto, Camilo, and Chambel of the University of Lisbon — argue that while after-hours work-related ICT use is predominantly associated with negative work–family/life outcomes, it also carries a positive dimension through enrichment. Conducting a systematic literature review of 38 articles and a multilevel meta-analysis of 37 articles published between May 2006 and May 2022, the study found a moderate, significant positive relationship between ICT-assisted after-hours work and work–family/life conflict (r = 0.335, p < 0.001), a small but significant positive relationship with work–family/life enrichment (r = 0.124, p = 0.013), and a non-significant relationship with work–family/life balance (r = −0.123, p = 0.289). Crucially, neither gender nor the COVID-19 period significantly moderated the conflict relationship. The authors conclude that after-hours ICT use presents a dual-edged dynamic, warranting organizational attention to disconnection rights and boundary management, while acknowledging the limited evidence base for the enrichment and balance findings.
Key insights
- 1ICT-assisted after-hours work is positively and moderately associated with work–family/life conflict (r = 0.335) across 34 studies, suggesting a consistent and meaningful negative effect on the work–family interface.
- 2The same after-hours ICT use behaviour is also positively associated with work–family/life enrichment (r = 0.124), indicating a 'double-edged sword' dynamic where skill and resource transfer between domains can occur alongside conflict.
- 3Neither gender nor the pre-/during-COVID-19 period significantly moderated the relationship between after-hours ICT use and work–family/life conflict, challenging assumptions that women experience distinctly higher conflict from after-hours technology use.
Practical takeaways
- The consistent positive link between after-hours ICT use and work–family/life conflict across diverse occupations, geographies, and measurement instruments points to after-hours connectivity as a material risk factor for employee wellbeing that organisations may consider addressing through explicit disconnection policies.
- The instrument used to measure work–family/life conflict matters: studies using the Netemeyer et al. (1996) scale yielded a substantially higher pooled effect (r = 0.478) than those using other measures, which has implications for how organisations and researchers assess and interpret conflict outcomes in their own contexts.
Frameworks mentioned
Work–Family Enrichment Theory
Proposed by Greenhaus and Powell (2006), this framework conceptualises the extent to which experiences in one role (work or family) improve the quality of life in the other role, encompassing developmental, affective, and efficiency aspects of cross-domain resource transfer.
Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) Theory
Referenced in the context of Ghislieri et al. (2017), this theory frames work characteristics as either demands (which deplete resources) or resources (which buffer against demands), applied here to understand gender differences in ICT-related conflict and enrichment.
References
- SAGE Open (2021).The relationship of work-related ICT use with well-being, incorporating the role of resources and demands: a meta-analysis.
- Internet Research (2020).Negative outcomes of ICT use at work: meta-analytic evidence and the role of job autonomy.
- Journal of Applied Psychology (2017).Disentangling the relationship between gender and work–family conflict: an integration of theoretical perspectives using meta-analytic methods.
- Journal of Applied Psychology (2020).A cross-national meta-analytic examination of predictors and outcomes associated with work–family conflict.
- Journal of Organizational Behavior (2011).Antecedents of work–family conflict: a meta-analytic review.
- Eurofound / Publications Office of the European Union (2021).Right to disconnect: Exploring company practices.
- UN Women (2022).The levers of change gender equality attitudes study 2022.
- Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (2022).The gendered effects of the Covid-19 crisis in Finland.
- The BMJ (2009).Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement.
- Journal of Applied Psychology (1996).Development and validation of work–family conflict and family–work conflict scales.
- Journal of Vocational Behavior (2006).Measuring the positive side of the work-family interface: development and validation of a work-family enrichment scale.
- Human Relations (2009).Is work-family balance more than conflict and enrichment?.
Source & Provenance
Not specified
Alda Santos, Magda Sofia Roberto, Cláudia Camilo, Maria José Chambel
February 1, 2023
Meta-Analysis/Review
Global
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