Boundary violations and teleworker counterproductive work behavior: the role of working time demands, threat to family role and involuntary teleworking
International Journal of Conflict Management
ISSN: 1044-4068
Article publication date: 21 December 2023
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing on cognitive appraisal theory, this study aims to explore the indirect effect of work/family boundary violations on teleworkers’ counterproductive work behavior (CWB). In addition, it examines the moderating role of involuntary teleworking in this context.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the diary study method, this study used 543 questionnaires collected from 122 teleworkers in China.
Findings
The findings indicate that working time demands mediate the relationship between work boundary violations and teleworker CWB, and threats to family roles mediate the relationship between family boundary violations and teleworker CWB. In addition, involuntary teleworking positively moderates the relationship between work boundary violations and working time demands, as well as the relationship between family boundary violations and threats to family roles.
Originality/value
The study makes several valuable contributions to the extant literature. First, it enhances research on the antecedents of teleworker CWB. Second, by introducing two mediating variables corresponding to two types of boundary violations, the paper provides new insights and a fresh understanding of the effects of boundary violations in teleworking situations. Third, by considering the moderating role of involuntary teleworking, this research adds to the current knowledge on the impact of discussing boundary violations solely on teleworking or traditional office days.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: This study was supported by the [National Natural Science Foundation of China] under Grant [No. 71832007] and [National Natural Science Foundation of China] under Grant [No. 71572157].
Ethical approval: This declaration is not applicable.
Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Availability of data and materials: The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [Lai], upon reasonable request.
Citation
Xu, N., Tang, C., Yang, C. and Lai, Y. (2023), "Boundary violations and teleworker counterproductive work behavior: the role of working time demands, threat to family role and involuntary teleworking", International Journal of Conflict Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-03-2023-0058
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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