دانلود رایگان مقاله ارتباطات کار الکترونیکی مدیر عامل "پس از ساعت ها"

It is an understatement to say that technology has changed the nature of work. Electronic communication and the mobility afforded via technologies with Internet capabilities have fundamentally changed when, where, and how work gets done. One substantive change is employees becoming more and more tethered to their workplace even when they leave the office for the day or during vacations and other non-working days. This has led to the phenomenon of ‘‘the new night shift,’’ when employees ‘‘log back on to work’’ (or never log off) to check and respond to email and texts. Research on this topic has evolved over the past decade along with the advances in these technologies. Much of the early work on communication technology focused on teleworkers(ortelecommuters) as a specific group of employees who performed part or all of their jobs from virtual (typically, the home) rather than traditional offices. Yet with advances in and greater access to technologies (e.g., smartphones, tablets), more and more employees of all types are able (or required) to attend to work matters beyond the time and location constraints of the traditional workplace. These devices essentially blur the lines between what would typically be considered a teleworker versus any typical employee with a mobile device and/or Internet access. As such, work in this area has expanded to more generally understand the drivers and effects of employee work connectivity beyond the traditional boundaries of the workplace. With work communication via mobile technologies only likely to proliferate moving forward, it is paramount that organizations better understand and manage the consequences of employee connectivity, both good and bad. On the one hand, connectivity provides flexibility for employees in addressing the many and often competing demands of both the job and home life. An individual can attend to personal matters such as attending a child’s activity or being away on vacation while still being connected to the office. Yet with this flexibility comes the feeling and perhaps reality of never being able to disconnect from work. The question then becomes: does the greater flexibility and efficiency in managing competing demands offset the disruption and stress associated with no clear delineation of work and home boundaries?

CONCLUSION

We sought to highlight our research findings on ‘‘afterhours’’ electronic communication. This research has offered insights on both the upside and downside of connectivity to work, providing practical guidance for organizations, managers, and individual employees to most effectively manage after-hours electronic communication and the blurring of boundaries that has become commonplace with advances in communication technologies. As workplaces move forward with further advances in communication technologies, practice-oriented research in the area of ‘‘after hours’’ work communications will continue to prosper — hopefully providing further understanding that will enable employeesto most effectively manage the worklife interface.