Trapped in Time: The Impact of Electronic Communication During Non-work Time on Thriving at Work

With the maturity of online office software and the arrival of the global mobile communication era, electronic communication between executives and employees during non-work hours has become more prevalent. Although a number of studies have looked into the negative effects of electronic communication during non-work time, there is still a gap in understanding the long-term consequences in organizations. Using the social framework of thriving at work and the Conservation of Resources Theory (COR), we investigated the relationship between electronic communication during non-work time and thriving at work. In addition, we examined the mechanism of e-communication’s impact on workplace thriving, as well as the mediating function of emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of psychological resilience in this relationship. Based on the empirical analysis of 316 questionnaires collected in two stages, our research proves that electronic communication during non-work time significantly negatively affects thriving at work; emotional exhaustion has a mediating effect in the relationship between non-work time e-communication and thriving at work; the degree of e-communication’s influence on emotional exhaustion will be affected by employees’ psychological resilience. When employees possess high psychological resilience, the positive effects of e-communication on emotional exhaustion will be weakened. Conversely, it will be enhanced.