The "double-edged Sword" Effect Of Off-hours Work Communication Tool Use On Work Engagement

Working in Non-working Time through Information and Communication Technologies(WN＿ICT)is the behavior of employees who use communication devices to handle their work during non-working time.With the widespread use of modern communication technologies,WN＿ICT has become more common among occupational groups.The impact of WN＿ICT on employees’ psychology and behavior has become an important research topic in organizational psychology.Among them,the mechanism of WN＿ICT’s influence on work engagement does not have a sufficient conclusion.In this study,we examined the relationship between WN＿ICT and work engagement,introduced work rumination(affective rumination and problem-solving pondering)and psychology detachment,and investigated the mechanism of "double-edged sword" effect between this relationship.A survey of 270 active employees from the Internet,manufacturing,and education industries was conducted by Working in Non-working Time through Information and Communication Technologies Behavior Scale,Work-Related Rumination Questio-nnaire,Psychology Detachment Questionnaire and UWES-9.The results of study are as follow:1)Employees’ WN＿ICT,work engagement and problem-solving pondering were at moderately high levels,while affective rumination and psychology detachment were at moderately low levels.Employees with bachelor’s degrees had significantly higher levels of WN＿ICT than employees with master degrees or above.2)WN＿ICT has a significant positive predictive effect on work engagement.Problem-solving pondering has a significant positive predictive effect on work engagement.Affective rumination has a significant negative predictive effect on work engagement.Work-related rumination partially mediated the relationship between WN＿ICT and work engagement,Affective rumination negatively mediated the relationship between WN＿ICT and work engagement,problem-solving pondering positively mediated the relationship between WN＿ICT and work engagement,respectively.3)Psychology detachment positively moderated the relationships between WN＿ICT and work engagement,affective rumination and work engagement,but it negatively moderated the relationship between problem-solving pondering and work engagement.Conclusions: WN＿ICT is commonly used in enterprises,the current status of employees’ WN＿ICT and work engagement are generally at a moderately high level.The effect of WN＿ICT on work engagement is a "double-edged sword" effect.Psychology detachment promotes the positive effect of WN＿ICT on work engagement,buffers the negative indirect effect of affective rumination,inhibits the positive indirect effect of problem-solving pondering,respectively.