Exploring the role of organisational context and work flexibility in perceiving digital technology affordances: a study of knowledge workers

Research on the use of digital technologies in workplace has primarily focused on the uses of technology for nonwork-related activities that are considered misuses by employees. Such activities have been argued to influence employees’ performance, productivity and satisfaction negatively, while some studies highlight how the use of digital technologies for nonwork purposes can buffer employees from work stress and boredom. Rather than focusing on such negative or positive outcomes, in this paper we aim to unpack the dynamics of employees using digital technologies in certain ways. In doing so, we examine how they perceive technological affordances by considering the role of organisational context including Internet use policies, norms, and the nature of jobs and work. Through a qualitative analysis of knowledge workers’ use of digital technologies at work, we show that job flexibility and organisational IT use policies influence their perceptions of technology affordances. We also show how knowledge workers are managing such flexibilities through technologies and the interruptions they experience can lead to certain reactions to digital technologies that we categorise as attentive or preventive.