Job Connectedness: Antecedents and Outcomes

Abstract

Despite advancements in research on the area of using information and communication technologies for work, gaps persist in literature examining mechanisms that can account for the positive and negative outcomes of staying connected through technology. I propose that the ability to control one?s boundaries in line with one?s desired balance of work and life can explain why staying connected may have either positive or negative outcomes among individuals. I examine job connectedness, defined as the extent to which individuals remain connected to work matters remotely using communications-based technology. Using a sample of 122 employees in Singapore, I developed and validated a scale on job connectedness. Using this scale, I tested the nomological network of job connectedness using experience sampling methodology with 115 full-time working individuals in Singapore over 5 consecutive days. I rest on the framework of boundary management theory to guide my research model and hypotheses. Implications are discussed.