All wired, all tired? Work-related ICT-use outside work hours and work-to-home conflict: The role of integration preference, integration norms and work demands

Prior research has shown that work-related ICT-use outside work hours is generally related with more work-to-home conflict, but that this effect can be mitigated or even reversed when people have an integration preference. In this study, we posit that the moderating role of integration preference in itself depends on the work environment because the context can alter people's sense of control and autonomy and may therefore affect the influence of a preference-behavior alignment. To test this, we examine three-way interactions between two types of work-related ICT-use outside work hours (i.e., smartphone use and PC/laptop use), integration preference and two characteristics of the work environment (i.e., organizational integration norms and work demands) on time- and strain-based work-to-home conflict. Analyses are performed on a survey sample of 467 working parents in Belgium. Findings indicate that only work-related PC/laptop use – and not smartphone use – outside work hours is positively related to work-to-home conflict. This effect is buffered for people who have a preference to integrate work and personal life, but only when their work environment is characterized by low organizational integration norms and/or low work demands. This indicates that for employees with integration preferences, work-related ICT-use outside work hours may not complicate – and could even facilitate – finding work-home compatibility; yet, this effect depends on organizational factors as well. The results of this study may help organizations to better understand the impact of expectations regarding staying connected to work while being at home.