External pressures on technology-assisted supplemental work: Motivation regulation styles and the impact on daily recovery

Prior research has proposed detrimental but also beneficial effects of Technology-Assisted Supplemental Work (TASW) for employees’ recovery. The beneficial effects of TASW have been attributed to its autonomy-enhancing potential. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), we distinguish two forms of TASW (reactive and proactive), depicting external and relative autonomous regulation of TASW, to explain its opposing associations with recovery. Based on SDT and the stressor-detachment model we predict detrimental effects for daily recovery experiences as TASW might comprise externally motivated behaviors that are internalized over time. We propose that external pressures (work stressors and normative pressures) serve as antecedents to TASW. Furthermore, we predict that more autonomous TASW has less detrimental effects on recovery experiences. Results from two consecutive diary studies with two and three daily measurements ( N Persons = 43, 65; n observations = 514, 1211) largely support our hypotheses. Quantitative (overtaxing) and qualitative (hindering) work stressors and injunctive, but not descriptive norms, predicted TASW. Proactive TASW, but not reactive TASW, had a negative indirect effect on relaxation via lower levels of psychological detachment. Our findings provide insights into the temporal dynamics of external pressures, supplemental work, and subsequent impairment of recovery. Overall, our results did not support a beneficial effect of more autonomous TASW for recovery experiences.