Impact of Non-Office Electronic Communication on Job Performance: Role Burden and Work-Family Boundary Tendency

This study investigates the impact of electronic communication during non-office hours on job performance, exploring the mediating role of role burden and the moderating effect of family-work boundary preferences. Using a sample of 602 employees from enterprises in China, this study adopts the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model to analyze the relationship between non-office electronic communication, role burden, and job performance. The results reveal that employees’ acceptance, urgency, and work-related relevance of electronic communication during non-office hours positively affect job performance and role burden. Role burden partially mediates these relationships. However, the frequency of electronic communication does not significantly influence job performance or role burden. Furthermore, the tendency towards a negative family-work boundary moderates the relationship between employee acceptance, urgency, and job performance but not the frequency, work-related relevance, and job performance. The findings suggest that organizations should manage electronic communication during non-office hours to maximize its positive effects and minimize role burden.