Disconnecting to Detach: The Role of Impaired Recovery in Negative Consequences of Workplace Telepressure

Abstract

Information and communication technologies (ICT) afford benefits in staying connected and increasing work flexibility for employees; however, they also bring us negative behavioral and psychological outcomes. This research examines the potential consequences of workplace telepressure, referring to the preoccupation with and urge to respond quickly to work-related ICT messages, on employee physical and psychological outcomes and the intervening roles of psychological detachment and boundary-crossing behaviors. A sample of 233 full-time workers from an online survey panel completed an online questionnaire. We observed bivariate relationships between workplace telepressure and health outcomes (i.e., employee burnout, poor sleep quality), psychological detachment, and boundary crossing. Bootstrapped indirect effects analyses showed that only boundary crossing provided a viable pathway by which workplace telepressure was associated with physical fatigue, poor sleep quality, and low sleep quantity. Implications of the intervening role of boundary crossing and the relationships between workplace telepressure and negative health outcomes are discussed.

Keywords

• Workplace telepressure
• Psychological detachment
• Boundary crossing
• Burnout
• Presenteeism
• Sleep