0000000000731510
AUTHOR
Ward Van Zoonen
Staying connected and feeling less exhausted : The autonomy benefits of after‐hour connectivity
This study investigates the longitudinal relationship between after-hour connectivity, autonomy and exhaustion. In doing so, we seek to illuminate the role of individuals' connectivity to work in relation to their autonomy and well-being. We juxtapose different effective directions of the relationship between connectivity and autonomy to shed light on whether and how connectivity and autonomy are related to employees' well-being. This is important because research has both often problematized after-hour connectivity and suggested that connectivity is an inherent feature of contemporary workplaces that may benefit employees. In this study, we hypothesize that after-hour connectivity increase…
Examining the longitudinal relationship between visibility and persistence on stress and technology-assisted supplemental work
This study examines the longitudinal relationship between two affordances of organizational information and communication technologies (ICTs)—that is, visibility and persistence—and individuals’ subjective stress and technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW). We propose that visibility and persistence associated with organizational ICTs are often more aptly construed as probabilities for action, rather than merely possibilities for action. The hypotheses are tested using latent change structural equation modeling drawing on two-wave survey data from 437 employees of a global industrial logistics company headquartered in a Nordic country. The findings highlight that visibility is associat…
The impact of remote work and mediated communication frequency on isolation and psychological distress
A massive shift towards remote work practices has presented many organizations and employees with acute challenges associated with multi-locational work. This shift underscores the need to reconsider isolation as one of the focal challenges of organizations in an era of increasingly dispersed and mediated work practices. This study relies on a three-wave survey among Finnish workers to investigate how remote work practices and the use of information and communication technology (ICT) have impacted perceptions of isolation during the global health pandemic, and whether these relationships have an effect on psychological distress. The findings indicate that facilitating the use of ICTs may he…
CSR Communication in Corporate Social Media : An Empirical Investigation of European Top Companies’ Use of Social Media between 2012 and 2020
Social media (SM) platforms have emerged as an online arena in which people can have conversations both about and with organisations. They have become a place where organisations inform key stakeholders about their corporate governance and responsibility initiatives and address accountability concerns. However, early public relations (PR) research on SM and stakeholder engagement found that many organisations use SM as a way to push content instead of engaging their stakeholders. This chapter presents a two-wave study (2012–2013 and 2019–2020) investigating large European corporations’ use of SM for communicating their corporate social responsibility (CSR). We selected ten highly reputable …
Factors influencing adjustment to remote work: Employees’ initial responses to the covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted when, where, and how employees work. Drawing on a sample of 5452 Finnish employees, this study explores the factors associated with employees’ abrupt adjustment to remote work. Specifically, this study examines structural factors (i.e., work independence and the clarity of job criteria), relational factors (i.e., interpersonal trust and social isolation), contextual factors of work (i.e., change in work location and perceived disruption), and communication dynamics (i.e., organizational communication quality and communication technology use (CTU)) as mechanisms underlying adjustment to remote work. The findings demonstrate that structural and contextual fac…
Understanding stressor-strain relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic : The role of social support, adjustment to remote work, and work-life conflict
This study investigates how the transition to remote work during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is experienced by employees. We investigate to what extent perceived work stressors relate to psychological strain through perceptions of social support, work-life conflict, and adjustment to remote work. The findings expound the mechanisms underlying psychological strain in the context of sudden organizational change. Specifically, this study shows that both challenge stressors and hindrance stressors have negative impact on adjustment to remote work, whereas hindrance stressors are more strongly negatively related to social support. The study further demonstrates that there is hardly any…
An analysis of fear factors predicting enterprise social media use in an era of communication visibility
PurposeThe benefits associated with visibility in organizations depend on employees' willingness to engage with technologies that utilize visible communication and make communication visible to others. Without the participation of workers, enterprise social media have limited value. This study develops a framework to assess what deters and drives employees' use of enterprise social media.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 753 employees of a global company using an online survey. The response rate was 24.5%. The authors used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized framework.FindingsThe results show that various fears by workers may deter or motivate enterprise …
Knowledge Brokering in an Era of Communication Visibility
This study presents an analysis of the extent to which enterprise social media (ESM) use enhances visibility of content (message transparency) and connections (network translucence) in organizations, and how this affects knowledge brokering. The findings support the theory of communication visibility by demonstrating that ESM use is associated with perceptions of message transparency and network translucence. Furthermore, the findings suggest that employees, regardless of their position within a network, are provided with a vision advantage and thus have the ability to engage in knowledge brokering. Future work needs to examine the impact of network characteristics on these effects. This ar…
The impact of remote work and mediated communication frequency on isolation and psychological distress
A massive shift towards remote work practices has presented many organizations and employees with acute challenges associated with multi-locational work. This shift underscores the need to reconsider isolation as one of the focal challenges of organizations in an era of increasingly dispersed and mediated work practices. This study relies on a three-wave survey among Finnish workers to investigate how remote work practices and the use of information and communication technology (ICT) have impacted perceptions of isolation during the global health pandemic, and whether these relationships have an effect on psychological distress. The findings indicate that facilitating the use of ICTs may he…
Knowledge Brokering in an Era of Communication Visibility
This study presents an analysis of the extent to which enterprise social media (ESM) use enhances visibility of content (message transparency) and connections (network translucence) in organizations, and how this affects knowledge brokering. The findings support the theory of communication visibility by demonstrating that ESM use is associated with perceptions of message transparency and network translucence. Furthermore, the findings suggest that employees, regardless of their position within a network, are provided with a vision advantage and thus have the ability to engage in knowledge brokering. Future work needs to examine the impact of network characteristics on these effects. This a…
Work-Related Social Media Use : The Mediating Role of Social Media Communication Self-Efficacy
Social media use has become an indispensable part of knowledge work. Employees posting work-related content on social media are considered credible sources of information and have significant importance for how stakeholders, such as potential customers and future employees, perceive the organization. Therefore, employees’ ability to communicate about their work on social media has become a competitive advantage both for individual employees and for their organizations, especially in the professional service sector. Hence, understanding the role of employees’ ability to use these social media professionally is crucial for understanding the communicative behaviors of contemporary knowledge wo…
Benefits and drawbacks of communication visibility : from vicarious learning and supplemental work to knowledge reuse and overload
Purpose This study aims to examine some of the benefits and drawbacks of communication visibility. Specifically, building on communication visibility theory, the authors study how and why message transparency and network translucence may increase knowledge reuse and perceived overload through behavioral responses of vicarious learning and technology-assisted supplemental work. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on survey data obtained from 1,127 employees of a global company operating in the industrial machinery sector, the authors used structural equation modeling to test the hypothesized model. Findings The results demonstrate that the two aspects of communication visibility yield somew…
Why people engage in supplemental work: The role of technology, response expectations, and communication persistence
Supported by various collaboration technologies that allow communication from any place or time, employees increasingly engage in technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW). Challenges associated with managing work and non-work time have been further complicated by a global pandemic that has altered traditional work patterns and locations. To date studies applying a TASW framework have focused mainly on individual uses of technology or connectivity behaviors, and not considered the potential team and social pressures underlying these processes. This study provides clarity on the differences between technology use and TASW and sheds light on the drivers of TASW in a work environment charac…
Boundary communication: how smartphone use after hours is associated with work-life conflict and organizational identification
This study investigates how boundary communication mediates the effects of smartphone use for work after hours on work-life conflict and organizational identification. It draws upon boundary theory, work-family border theory, and a structurational view of organizational identification. The research site was a large Scandinavian company operating in the telecommunications industry, with 367 employees responding to a survey at two time periods. In contrast to many studies, the use of information and communication technologies (here, smartphones) for after-hours work was not associated with work-life conflict, but was positively associated with organizational identification. However, communica…
Organizational information and communication technologies and their influence on communication visibility and perceived proximity
This study investigates the relationships between the use of various organizational ICTs, communication visibility, and perceived proximity to distant colleagues. In addition, this study examines the interplay between visibility and proximity, to determine whether visibility improves proximity, or vice versa. These relationships are tested in a global company using two waves of panel survey data. ESM use increases communication visibility and perceived proximity, while controlling for prior levels of visibility, proximity, and the use of other organizational ICTs. The influence of ESM on network translucence and perceived proximity is generally stronger than the impact of other technologie…