Neue Publikation im Journal of Business and Psychology

Braukmann, J., Schmitt, A., Ďuranová, L., & Ohly, S. (2017). Identifying ICT-Related Affective Events Across Life Domains and Examining their Unique Relationships with Employee Recovery. Journal of Business and Psychology, doi: 10.1007/s10869-017-9508-7

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) use for employees by exploring affective ICT events and their relation to employee recovery. We conducted two daily diary studies with knowledge workers in Germany. In Study 1 (N=153), we followed a qualitative approach by developing a taxonomy of negative and positive ICT events at work and at home. We found eleven negative (e.g., multichannel use, work emails in the evening) and ten positive ICT event clusters (e.g., utilizing idle times, availability at home). In Study 2 (N= 154), we examined how the occurrence of ICT-related events in the evening is related to detachment from work and sleep quality using a multilevel design. Study 2 provided a differentiated picture of relationships between evening ICT events and recovery. Overall, results indicate that work-related ICT events in the evening – even in cases where they are appraised as positive – are detrimental for employee recovery. Our study contributes to the refinement of the operationalization of ICT use for future analyses of ICT impacts and sheds light on the differential effects of specific types of ICT events. ICT use conceptualized as the occurrence of affective events helps to advance our understanding of the diversity of ICT-related experiences. The negative effects of handling work emails at home imply that organizations should engage in optimizing their “email culture”.