Differential Effects of Proactive and Reactive Work Connectivity Behavior After-Hours on Well-Being at Work: A Boundary Theory Perspective

This study examines the differential impact of proactive and reactive work connectivity behaviors on job well-being, drawing from the perspective of boundary theory. The increasing popularity of work connectivity behavior after-hours (WCBA) has attracted widespread attention from scholars on the relationship between WCBA and employee well-being. One view suggests that the impact of WCBA is negative, while another view suggests it is positive. Obviously, the impact of (WCBA) on well-being at work is still contradictory. To clarify the complexity of the impact of WCBA on well-being at work, based on boundary theory, we divided WCBA into proactive WCBA (PC) and reactive WCBA (RC), and examined the double-edged sword effect of WCBA on well-being at work, as well as the mediating mechanisms of job control and work-to-home conflict, and the moderated effects of boundary segmentation preferences. This study uses an empirical sampling method to collect data from 125 employees for a period of five days for quantitative research. The results show that, first, PC has an inverted U-shaped effect on job control, and job control is negatively related to well-being at work. Thus, the mediating effect of job control is significant. Second, RC has a negative impact on job control, and there is also a negative relationship between job control and well-being at work. Therefore, the mediating effect of job control is significant. Third, PC and RC are positively correlated with work-to-home conflict, and work-to-home conflict has a significant positive impact on well-being at work. Therefore, the mediating effect of work-family conflict is significant. Fourth, the study also found that integration preference moderates the relationship between work-to-home conflict and PC on well-being at work; that is, the mediating effect of work-to-home conflict is stronger for employees with a low integration preference. This study enriches our understanding of WCBA, PC, and RC from the perspective of proactive and passive employee behaviors. The study also provides a new interpretation of the impact of WCBA on well-being at work and offers valuable insights into sustainable development in digital social transformation and the application of boundary theory and the theory of empowerment-subjugation in achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, the study deepens our understanding of the heterogeneous regulatory role played by work-family integration preferences in influencing well-being at work under different types of WCBA.