Work connectivity behavior after-hours and job satisfaction: examining the moderating effects of psychological entitlement and perceived organizational support

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the moderating effects of psychological entitlement and perceived organizational support (POS) on the relationship between work connectivity behavior after-hours (WCBA) and job satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 217 full-time employees of an Internet company in China at two points in time separated by about one month. Hierarchical regression and simple slope analyses were conducted to test hypotheses.

Findings

The results showed that WCBA was negatively related to job satisfaction and that this relationship could be mitigated by POS. Moreover, psychological entitlement aggravated this relationship, and this aggravating effect was stronger when POS was at low levels.

Practical implications

Managers should avoid intervening employees' nonwork domains too much. If this is unavoidable, managers should provide adequate organizational support to help employees cope with the challenges brought by WCBA. Besides, managers need to pay close attention to highly entitled employees and take measures to modify their expectations.

Originality/value

First, this study enriches the understanding of what WCBA is and how WCBA works by investigating the influencing mechanism of WCBA from the perspectives of effort–reward imbalance and job demands–resources. Second, by verifying the moderating effects of psychological entitlement and POS, this study provides insights into the boundaries of the WCBA–job satisfaction relationship. Third, this study contributes to the literature on psychological entitlement by identifying its one applicable condition.

Citation

Cheng, K., Cao, X., Guo, L. and Xia, Q. (2022), "Work connectivity behavior after-hours and job satisfaction: examining the moderating effects of psychological entitlement and perceived organizational support", Personnel Review, Vol. 51 No. 9, pp. 2277-2293. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-06-2020-0413