How Work–Nonwork Conflict Affects Remote Workers’ General Health in China: A Self-Regulation Theory Perspective

Yanwei Shi, Dan Li, Zhiqing E. Zhou, Hui Zhang, Zhuang She () and Xi Yuan ()
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Yanwei Shi: Department of Human Resource Management, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
Dan Li: College Student Mental Health Education and Consultation Center, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 570216, China
Zhiqing E. Zhou: Department of Psychology, Baruch College and The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY 10010, USA
Hui Zhang: School of Sociology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Zhuang She: Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Xi Yuan: College Student Mental Health Education and Consultation Center, Hainan Medical University, Haikou 570216, China

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-14

Abstract: Difficulty in balancing the demands of work and nonwork has been shown to be associated with lower physical and psychological health. Grounded on the self-regulation theory, we examined the effect of work–nonwork conflict on general health among employees who transitioned to remote work (remote workers), and we tested whether this association was mediated by impaired self-control capacity. The study further examined the perceived boundary control as a moderator of these associations. We collected two waves of questionnaire data with a one-month interval from 461 remote workers, and the results of regression-based analyses revealed that work–nonwork conflict was negatively related to remote workers’ general health through increased self-control capacity impairment. In addition, this indirect effect was weaker for remote workers with higher perceived boundary control than those with lower perceived boundary control. These findings expand our understanding of remote workers’ work–nonwork conflict and have practical implications for promoting the general health of remote workers who are experiencing work–nonwork conflict.

Keywords: work–nonwork conflict; general health; self-control capacity impairment; perceived boundary control; remote worker; self-regulation theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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