Activated at home but deactivated at work: How daily mobile work leads to next-day psychological withdrawal behavior

Abstract

Drawing from the effort-recovery model and the work-home resources model, we investigate the linking mechanisms between daily mobile work and next-day psychological withdrawal behavior. Using a recovery lens, we propose that an employee's mobile work negatively relates to state resilience via psychological detachment from work on a daily basis. In light of a work-to-home process, we suggest that the focal employee's daily mobile work negatively relates to the spouse's relationship satisfaction via spouse perception of the employee's psychological detachment. In light of a home-to-work process, we also focus on state resilience as a mediator that translates diminished recovery and home outcomes into psychological withdrawal behavior. We tested our hypotheses using experience sampling data from 106 couples for 15 consecutive workdays. Results showed that the focal employee's mobile work was negatively associated with state resilience through decreased psychological detachment. On days when the employee engaged in mobile work more frequently, the spouse perceived the employees' psychological detachment as being weaker; moreover, the spouse experienced lower relationship satisfaction. Overall, the employee's daily mobile work was positively and indirectly associated with next-day psychological withdrawal behavior via psychological detachment and state resilience. The spouse's relationship satisfaction did not relate to the employee's state resilience.