Although a large number of literatures have explored the relationship between electronic communication during nonwork time and individual perception and behavior under the Western culture background, we still have some limitations on this topic under the cultural background of collectivism, dedication and “Guanxi” in China. Different from Western organizations, Chinese employees tend to put work first and are more inclusive of handling work tasks during nonwork time. This type of communication during nonwork time can significantly affect employees’ cognition, emotion and (...) behavior. From the perspective of Job Demands-Resources theory, this study constructs a double-edged model between electronic communication during nonwork time and employee withdrawal behavior. Sample data were collected from 516 employees with clear working time boundaries in China. The results indicate that electronic communication during nonwork time has a U-shaped effect on employee withdrawal behavior and an inverted U-shaped effect on employee’s cognition, namely job engagement. Job engagement plays a mediating role between them. Moreover, regulatory emotional self-efficacy has a moderating effect on the relationship between electronic communication during nonwork time and job engagement. These findings not only provide theoretical and practical implications for managers and employees on how to reduce withdrawal behaviors, but also advance our understanding of electronic communication during nonwork time in Chinese cultural context. (shrink)

Social rejection is cold and hurtful, but how and why it is formed remains under-investigated. Our study offers one possible explanation from the rejector’s perspective by developing a moderated mediation model on the emotional antecedent and consequence of social rejection. Specifically, envious individuals use social rejection to complement their inferiority, further triggering their negative affect. Drawing on social comparison theory, we conducted an experience sampling methodology investigation of 55 frontline workers through a 10-workday-survey. As predicted, daily envy is positively associated (...) with daily social rejection. Daily social rejection is positively related to daily negative affect. Furthermore, daily social rejection mediates the relationship between daily envy and daily negative affect. These effects are more robust for females than males, including the impact of envy on social rejection and the impact of envy on negative affect via social rejection. We suggest the recipient and the rejector make psychological and behavioral adjustments accordingly. We also recommend that future research extend our current study methodologically and theoretically. (shrink)