Less Detachment but More Cognitive Flexibility? A Diary Study on Outcomes of Cognitive Demands of Flexible Work

Due to the increased flexibilization of work, more and more employees are required to structure their own work and coordinate it with others and thus need to handle the cognitive demands of flexible work. However, research to date has not provided clear results regarding the impact of these cognitive demands on employees. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of cognitive demands on psychological detachment and cognitive flexibility in the home domain and to uncover the specific psychological processes that underlie these associations. Specifically, we analyzed whether two types of cognitive demands of flexible work (structuring one's work and coordinating work with others) were associated with psychological detachment and cognitive flexibility via two distinct processes that involve cognitive load and learning. Using a diary study with two daily measurement points over 10 workdays, we collected data from 54 employees of an IT company who provided 334 day-level datasets. Bayesian multilevel mediation analyses revealed that the two cognitive demands sparked distinct processes. Daily demands for structuring one's work are linked to an enrichment process that includes daily learning and, subsequently, daily cognitive flexibility at home. In contrast, daily demands for coordinating work with others are linked to a conflict process that encompasses daily cognitive load and subsequently reduced psychological detachment at home. These findings suggest that, depending on the specific cognitive demand, cognitive demands have either beneficial or adverse effects on employees' functioning at home and therefore lead to either an enrichment or conflict process.