How techno-invasion leads to time banditry: a perspective from conservation of resources theory

Although information and communication technologies are advantageous for enhancing employee performance, excessive use of technologies during non-working hours may increase employees’ experience of techno-invasion. Techno-invasion may cause them such emotional exhaustion that they will need to deal with non-work-related matters during working hours in order to relieve stress and preserve their limited time resources. Little research has systematically examined the role of techno-invasion in time banditry. The study treated in this paper explored why there is a positive relationship between techno-invasion and time banditry and its boundary conditions. The study used conservation of resources theory to address this research gap. Over four weeks, three hundred and seventy-eight working adults completed two waves of time-lagged surveys measuring techno-invasion, emotional exhaustion, time banditry, and meaningful work. The results showed that techno-invasion positively predicted a high level of time banditry, and emotional exhaustion played a mediating role in the positive relationship between techno-invasion and time banditry. Importantly, this study found that meaningful work acted as a buffer on the relationship between emotional exhaustion and time banditry. These findings extend our understanding of the negative consequences of techno-invasion and shed light on how to deal with them.