DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGICAL INVASION ON EMPLOYEE SILENCE ACROSS GENERATIONAL COHORTS

Abstract

Modern technologies enable employees to stay connected to work even during non-working hours, bringing its own challenges to employee behavior. This study examines whether emotional exhaustion mediates the effect of technological invasion on employee silence (i.e., prosocial, defensive, and acquiescent), and whether generational cohort (i.e., Generation Xers, Millennials, and Generation Zers) interacts with technological invasion to influence emotional exhaustion and thereby employee silence. The results based on data collected from 339 fulltime employees working for different organizations indicate that technological invasion is positively associated with employee silence (i.e., defensive and acquiescent), and that emotional exhaustion mediates this direct effect. However, the effects of technological invasion are less pronounced for Generation Xers than for Millennials and Generation Zers. Therefore, managers are encouraged to introduce HR policies that create a safe work environment that facilitates employees speaking up about technological invasion, and leveraging different generational experiences.