Workplace telepressure and work-life balance outcomes: The role of work recovery experiences

Workplace technology has posed some challenges to worker well-being. This research examined how workplace telepressure-a preoccupation and urge to respond quickly to message-based communications-is related to work life balance evaluations, as well as how work recovery experiences might explain this relationship. Using an online survey design, Study 1 (N = 254) and Study 2 (N = 409) demonstrated that employees' workplace telepressure negatively related to satisfaction with work-life balance. Study 1 showed that psychological detachment may explain the relationship between workplace telepressure and satisfaction with work-life balance. In Study 2, psychological detachment and control over leisure time explained the relationship between workplace telepressure and global evaluations of work-life balance (satisfaction and effectiveness). Mastery and control experiences explained the relationship between workplace telepressure and work-family enrichment. Lastly, three recovery mechanisms (detachment, relaxation, and control) explained the link between workplace telepressure and work-family conflict. The evidence suggests that workplace telepressure is negatively associated with various employee evaluations of work-life balance, but the role of recovery experiences may depend on how work-life balance is measured.