Digital boundary work and work-to-family spillover in Europe: examining the role of digital skills.

Digital technologies have eroded the physical and psychological boundaries that divide work versus family. As a result, a new set of skills is necessary to manage digital interferences. We use individual-level data (n = 15,049) from the 2020/22 European Social Survey of 31 countries to examine the influence of digital job demands (e.g. digital work contact) and resources (e.g. digital skills) on work-to-family spillover, which occurs when behaviors and emotions from work intrude into the family. Aligned with prior research, hierarchical linear regressions demonstrate that the demands of digital work contact (e.g. work-related emails) exacerbate work-to-family spillover, while remote work is a resource reducing spillover. We advance these insights, however, revealing digital skills as an important boundary management resource. Digital skills not only reduce work-to-family spillover but also moderate the relationships that digital work contact and remote work have with work-to-family spillover. Drawing on a job demand-resource model, we suggest that digital skills are an important, yet understudied, resource for managing the boundary permeability and flexibility afforded by work-related technologies. Given that work-to-family spillover is a stressor linked to job satisfaction and family well-being, results highlight the potential of digital skills to alleviate inequalities in work and family outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]