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The Work-Family
Balance in Light
of Globalization
and Technology
The Work-Family
Balance in Light
of Globalization
and Technology
Edited by

Mireia Las Heras, Nuria Chinchilla

and Marc Grau
The Work-Family Balance in Light of Globalization and Technology

Edited by Mireia Las Heras, Nuria Chinchilla and Marc Grau

This book first published 2017

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Copyright © 2017 by Mireia Las Heras, Nuria Chinchilla, Marc Grau

and contributors

All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN (10): 1-4438-7337-3

ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-7337-6
This book is dedicated to two of the exceptional women who shaped the
International Center of Work and Family (ICWF) making it, and all of us
who are part of it, what we are today.

Firstly, Maruja Moragas, a wife, mother, researcher and strong woman.

Although she left us too soon, it was for a good reason as now she is resting
with God. Secondly, Esther Jimenez, a leader, dear friend and teacher in
every sense of the word. She will continue helping the ICWF, fitting it
around her new duties as dean of education at another university. To both
we would like to extend our eternal gratitude and our love.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Figures................................................................................................ xi

List of Tables ................................................................................................xii

Preface ......................................................................................................... xiv

Nancy P. Rothbard

Introduction .................................................................................................. 1
Mireia las Heras
References ................................................................................................. 5

PART I: Technology and Work-Family Balance

1 ...................................................................................................................... 8
Technology and Work-Life Integration:
Introducing the Nomological Network of Job Connectedness
Rashimah Rajah and Remus Ilies
Introduction ............................................................................................... 8
Job Connectedness .................................................................................... 9
Boundary Management Theory .............................................................. 10
Nomological Network of Job Connectedness ........................................ 11
Method .................................................................................................... 17
Results ..................................................................................................... 23
Discussion ............................................................................................... 33
Conclusion .............................................................................................. 34
References ............................................................................................... 35

2 .................................................................................................................... 38
Work/Non-Work Management in an Integrative Working
Environment Based on IT
Jean-Charles E. Languilaire
Managing Work/Non-work in an Integrative Context ........................... 38
Work/Non-work Challenges in Higher Education ................................. 40
An Inductive Case based Ethnographic Approach ................................. 42
The Case of Malmö University............................................................... 43
viii Table of Contents

Three Profiles of Boundary Managers.................................................... 44

Three Keys to Effective Work/Non-work Management
in Integrative Working Environment ................................................ 50
Work/Non-work Self-identify; the cornerstone to an
Effective Boundary Manager ............................................................ 55
References ............................................................................................... 57

PART II: Managers and Work-Family Balance

3 .................................................................................................................... 62
Work-Family Subcultures: Workgroup Multilevel Influences
on Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (FSSB) affecting
Individual Sleep Quality and Safety Performance
Ellen Ernst Kossek, Ryan A. Petty, Jesse S. Michel, Todd E. Bodner,
Nanette L. Yragui, Matthew B. Perrigino and Leslie B. Hammer
Introduction ............................................................................................. 63
Multilevel Model of Workgroup Work-Family Psychosocial Context .. 65
Hypotheses .............................................................................................. 68
Methods .................................................................................................. 71
Results ..................................................................................................... 74
Discussion ............................................................................................... 77
References ............................................................................................... 79

4 .................................................................................................................... 86
Human Resource Managers’ Perceptions
of Work-Life Balance Outcomes
Susana Pasamar
Introduction ............................................................................................. 86
Gender and Work-life Balance ............................................................... 88
Managers and Work-life Balance ........................................................... 90
Positive and Negative Consequences of Work-life Balance .................. 92
Methodology ........................................................................................... 95
Discussion and Conclusions ................................................................. 101
References ............................................................................................. 103

5 .................................................................................................................. 109
Work-Life Balance: Scale Development and Validation
Kakul Agha, Feza A. Tabassum and Sami A. Khan
Introduction ........................................................................................... 109
Research Gap and Objectives ............................................................... 110
WLB Constructs ................................................................................... 111
 The Work-Family Balance in Light of Globalization and Technology ix

Research Methodology ......................................................................... 112

Discussion, Conclusions and Directions for Future Research.............. 123
References ............................................................................................. 124

PART III: Globalization and Work-Family Balance

6 .................................................................................................................. 132
Layers of Context: Family-To-Work Conflict among Hindu Women
in South Africa
Ameeta Jaga and Jeffrey Bagraim
Introduction ........................................................................................... 132
Antecedents of F2WC Conflict among Hindu Women
in South Africa ................................................................................ 133
Cultural Values and F2WC................................................................... 135
Method .................................................................................................. 137
Results ................................................................................................... 139
Discussion ............................................................................................. 145
References ............................................................................................. 149

7 .................................................................................................................. 155
Factors Underlying the Advancement of Women in Academia:
A Review
Galina Boiarintseva and Souha R. Ezzedeen
Introduction ........................................................................................... 155
The Higher Education Industry: Past and Present ................................ 157
The Current State of Women in Academia .......................................... 160
Factors Underlying Women’s under-representation in Academia ....... 162
Conclusion ............................................................................................ 172
Significance and Implications for Research ......................................... 173
References ............................................................................................. 173

8 .................................................................................................................. 181
The Omnipresent Community in the Work-Life Experiences
of Women Entrepreneurs in Ethiopia: Challenges and Choices
Konjit Hailu Gudeta and Marloes L. Van Engen
Introduction and Background ............................................................... 181
Methodology ......................................................................................... 183
Findings ................................................................................................ 185
Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................... 197
References ............................................................................................. 199
x Table of Contents

9 .................................................................................................................. 202
Work-Family Enrichment: When Love Helps
Sowon Kim, Mireia Las Heras and María José Bosch Kreis
Introduction ........................................................................................... 202
Positive aspects of Work-Family Interface .......................................... 203
Work-Family Enrichment Theory ........................................................ 203
Method .................................................................................................. 205
Organizational and Home Factors Enhancing
Work and Family Resources ........................................................... 207
Conditions for Transfer of Resources via the Instrumental
and Affective Paths ......................................................................... 209
Discussion ............................................................................................. 212
Limitations ............................................................................................ 215
References ............................................................................................. 216

10 ................................................................................................................ 220
“In the Name of the Father”: Work-Family Conflict
of Israeli Married and Divorced Fathers
Ifat Matzner-Heruti and Laliv Cohen-Israeli
Introduction ........................................................................................... 220
Israeli Fathers and the Work-Family Conflict ...................................... 221
The Effect of Divorce on the Work-Family Integration of Fathers...... 225
Implications for the Work-Family Debate and a Policy Proposal ........ 232
Conclusion ............................................................................................ 236
References ............................................................................................. 236

11 ................................................................................................................ 241
Child Care Assistance as Work-Family Support: Meeting the Economic
and Caregiving Needs of Low-Income Working Families in The U.S
Julia R. Henly, Heather Sandstrom and Alejandra Ros Pilarz
Introduction ........................................................................................... 241
Child Care Assistance in the United States .......................................... 243
Methods ................................................................................................ 244
Results ................................................................................................... 247
Discussion ............................................................................................. 260
References ............................................................................................. 262

Editors ......................................................................................................... 266

Contributors ................................................................................................ 267

 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 Proposed nomological network of job connectedness ............... 14

Figure 1.2 Confirmatory factor analysis results .......................................... 21
Figure 1.3 Interaction plot for job connectedness and
voluntariness on psychological control over work-life balance ............. 27
Figure 1.4 Interaction plot for job connectedness and psychological control
over work-life balance on work-family conflict ..................................... 32
Figure 1.5 Interaction plot for job connectedness and
psychological control over work-life balance on burnout ...................... 33
Figure 2.1 Five work/non-work preferences and the work/
non-work continuum (Languilaire 2009, 394) ....................................... 52
Figure 2.2 Profiles and Preference in Higher Education facing
an integrative working environment based on IT ................................... 53
Figure 2.3 A constellation of four life domains based on needs
(Languilaire 2009, 388) .......................................................................... 55
Figure 2.4 Three keys and one cornerstone of effective boundary
management in integrative context ......................................................... 57
Figure 3.1 An Integrative Model of Workgroup Psychosocial
Contextual Resources Shaping FSSB Perceptions: Antecedents
and Linkages to Health, Safety, and Performance.................................. 66
Figure 5.1 Formulae for CR and VE ......................................................... 118
Figure 5.2 Nomological Validity ............................................................... 121
Figure 6.1 Interaction between Food-work overload and
Paid domestic support in predicting F2WC.......................................... 143
Figure 6.2 Interaction between Family involvement and Family
hierarchy orientation in predicting F2WC. ........................................... 145
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1 Principal component analysis results ........................................... 19

Table 1.2 Means, standard deviations, and correlations of variables .......... 24
Table 1.3 Regression coefficients from multilevel analysis
(Hypothesis 1) ......................................................................................... 25
Table 1.4 Regression coefficients from multilevel analysis
(Hypothesis 2) ......................................................................................... 26
Table 1.5 Regression coefficients from multilevel analysis
(Hypotheses 3a, 4a, and 5a) .................................................................... 28
Table 1.6 Regression coefficients from multilevel analysis
(Hypotheses 3b, 4b, and 5b) ................................................................... 29
Table 1.7 Regression coefficients for mediating effect
of psychological control over work-life balance .................................... 30
Table 1.8 Regression coefficients for moderating effect
of psychological control over work-life balance .................................... 31
Table 3.1 Descriptive Statistics for Level-2 Workgroup Variables ............ 75
Table 3.2 Descriptive Statistics for Level-1 Subordinate Variables ........... 75
Table 3.3 Analyses of Associate-Level and Work Group-Level Predictors
of Associate-Level FSSB Perceptions (Hypotheses 1a – 1b) ................. 76
Table 3.4 Analyses of Individual-level FSSB Perceptions
and Health (Sleep)and Safety Outcomes (Hypotheses 2a & 2b) ............ 77
Table 4.1 Distribution of the sample ........................................................... 95
Table 4.2 Positive outcomes. Confirmatory factor analysis ....................... 96
Table 4.3 Negative outcomes. Confirmatory factor analysis ..................... 97
Table 4.4 Means .......................................................................................... 98
Table 4.5 Gender and Balanced Relationship. Independent
Samples Test ........................................................................................... 99
Table 5.1 Results of KMO and Bartlett Test of Sphericity ....................... 115
Table 5.2 GFI values of WLB Constructs ................................................. 116
Table 5.3 Indicator Reliability ................................................................... 117
Table 5.4 Scale Reliability - Values of Cronbach’s alpha ......................... 118
Table 5.5 Scale Reliability – CR and VE Scale......................................... 119
Table 5.6 Convergent Validity................................................................... 120
Table 5.7 Discriminant Validity ................................................................ 120
Table 6.1 Inter-correlations and Reliabilities of the Variables
in the Study ........................................................................................... 140
Table 6.2 Standard Multiple Regression Analysis: Family Stressors
 The Work-Family Balance in Light of Globalization and Technology xiii

as Antecedents of F2WC ...................................................................... 141

Table 6.3 Moderated Hierarchical Regression Analysis:
Family Stressors and Family Social Support Predicting F2WC .......... 142
Table 6.4 Moderated Multiple Regression Analysis: Family
Stressors and Cultural Dimensions Predicting F2WC.......................... 144
Table 11.1 Characteristics of Qualitative Sample ..................................... 246
 PREFACE

The papers in this volume are the product of a special work-life conference
held at IESE in July of 2015. I was fortunate enough to attend and
participate in this conference which focused on technology, globalization,
and other contemporary issues related to work-family balance. The
intellectual exchange fostered by the conference was exciting. Moreover,
the topics were fascinating, cutting to the heart of our experience of work-
life issues in the modern world.
I have personally been captivated by the role that technology is playing
in our experience of work-life issues. Technology is fundamentally
changing both the way we work and the boundaries between our work and
non-work lives. It is allowing us to connect with others more fluidly and
flexibly through a variety of channels such as email, skype, instant
messaging, online social media and the like. But at the same time, it poses
challenges for our interactions with others and our ability to process the
information we now have access to. In other words, technology is opening
up a new world of possibilities – to work interdependently with people
across space and time; to multitask and stay connected at work while taking
care of family matters, and to both broaden and deepen our network
connections.
Equally important, another key trend is that we are living in a truly
global world, which affects both the way we work and how we approach
work-family issues in organizations. Globalization means that we are often
working across boundaries with people in different parts of the world, who
experience different cultural norms and structural institutional supports. As
a result, it is imperative that we gain more traction on understanding how
work-life issues play out in different national contexts because
understanding national contexts has implications for both policy and how
we apply what we have learned.
In addition to these important issues, other critical challenges face
employees and managers in contemporary organizations – such as eldercare
and the experience of gender. The recognition of eldercare as an important
aspect of work-life challenges is a new and growing area within the work-
life field. Moreover, understanding how gender influences our choices and
how others respond to us with regard to work-life issues has been a long
standing research focus. However, there are still many questions left
unanswered. An important factor of recent work is the recognition that
 The Work-Family Balance in Light of Globalization and Technology xv

gender does not necessarily mean female. Rather, gender is about both men
and women and their differing experiences. Taking a fresh look at gender
and how it affects what we know about work-life issues helps advance our
ability to make important changes in the workplace.
The papers in this volume tackle these important realities and questions.
They take a fresh look at how technology, globalization, and gender issues
are affecting the dynamics of work and family balance. For example, the
papers that examine technology help us push forward our understanding of
both the enabling aspects of technology as well as some of the challenges it
brings. They also highlight the importance of studying new phenomena and
how it affects the way we work and live. The papers on globalization take a
more nuanced look at work-life issues within different national contexts.
Doing so allows us to understand how work life issues are similar and
different across contexts. And finally, the focus on eldercare and gender
continues the growing conversation about the different experiences people
have of work-life issues. It helps to highlight why some people might
manage the boundary between work and family differently and why their
experiences might be both enriching or depleting, depending on what
aspect of work life issues one is addressing. By addressing these central and
timely issues, the papers in this volume help us to stay current and think
about the critical challenges facing employees and managers in the work
life domain. They help to push forward the frontier of work-life issues into
the 21st century.

Nancy P. Rothbard
Wharton. University of Pennsylvania
 INTRODUCTION

Technology is changing the way we balance work and family. In an age in

which information technology has brought the promise of autonomy and
control by allowing asynchronous communications; in which work systems
have enabled people to work from various times and in various locations; in
which work and non-work boundaries have as a result been blurred; the
work and family interface needs to be reconsidered. In line with this, the
main goal of the VI International Conference of Work and Family (July 1-
2, 2015) was to understand the impact of technology on work-family
dynamics, to address a wide range of current problems related to work-
family balance, and contribute solutions to those problems. Among other
important topics, the participants discussed questions such as how global
workers cope with work-family issues, and how information technology
impacts on work-family dynamics.
Not only has technology changed, so have many other social variables,
among which three contemporary employment trends might be of upmost
importance. The first is the changing nature of work (e.g., flexible human
resource practices, information and communication technologies and
globalization). The new nature of work, which is globalized and rapidly
changing, increasingly provides and demands structural conditions for
idiosyncrasy (Hornung, Rousseau, and Glaser 2009, 740). Second, the
labour market has grown in deregulation and has changed towards a service
economy. This requires employees to be committed to projects and willing
to learn and go beyond the requirements of their jobs. Third, the number of
dual-earner couples has grown dramatically. This translates into new needs
for flexibility to take care of family responsibilities (Duxbury, Lyons, and
Higgins 2007; Falkenberg and Monachello 1990).
Information technology carried the promise of autonomy and control
over when and where to perform work (Mazmanian, Orlikowski, and Yates
2013) by allowing asynchronous communications (Barber and Santuzzi
2015) and by enabling people to work from various times and in various
locations, thus offering flexibility and control over work (Valcour and
Hunter 2005). This ease of access to communicate in an asynchronous way
has led to a blurring of work and non-work boundaries, since people no
longer need to communicate face-to-face in order hold meetings, delegate
work, and generally access each other (Murray and Rostis 2007). Such
2 Introduction

boundary fading has on the one hand facilitated work-family balance by

increasing employees’ control over their work periods and enabling them to
gain the ability to creatively balance work and family pressures (Murray
and Rostis 2007). But on the other hand, it has made work more laborious,
contributed to overload (Barley, Meyerson, and Grodal 2011) and resulted
in many employees being “technologically connected to work all hours of
the day and night”, which leads them to “end up working everywhere/all
the time” (Mazmanian, Orlikowski, and Yates 2013, 1337–1338).
Information technology has resulted in employees feeling telepressure, i.e.
a strong urge to be responsive to people at work through ICT and a
preoccupation with quick response times (Barber and Santuzzi 2015),
experiencing the autonomy paradox, i.e. the need to be continuously
connected through ICT (Mazmanian, Orlikowski, and Yates 2013), and
becoming technologically tethered (Murray and Rostis 2007), i.e. being
incapable of switching off. Thus, ICT presents employees with the dilemma
of when, and to what extent, they should let job related communication
interrupt their family time (Kossek and Lautsch 2008; Sweet 2014).
For all of these reasons, the aim of the VI International Conference of
Work and Family was to reflect on the impact of technology and the global
context on work-family dynamics. The International Center for Work and
Family founded by Prof. Nuria Chinchilla organized its first academic
forum in 2005 (International Conference of Work and Family) in order to
create a vision and to build theory about work-family balance, with special
attention to the cross-cultural dimension and the application of theory in an
organizational context. The first book appeared in 2012 (Poelmans,
Greenhaus, and Las Heras Maestro, 2012) as a result of the contributions
presented at the first three ICWF conferences (2005, 2007, and 2009).
In line with previous editions, this new collection is the result of a
careful selection of articles presented at the VI ICWF conference (2015). In
total, over 70 scholars of more than 30 nationalities participated in our last
conference. This book, as with the conference, has a clear international
focus. As the reader will see, the chapters in the book represent countries in
Africa (Ethiopia and South Africa), the Middle East (Israel and Oman),
Asia (Singapore), Europe (Spain and Sweden) and North America (United
States). We also selected those papers that used different analytical
approaches. Among others, the reader will find an ethnographic study
conducted in a Swedish University, a quantitative study among Hindu
women in South Africa, and a research project that used an experience
sample methodology (ESM) in Singapore. Two chapters offer scale
validation studies: one presents a qualitative study conducted in Ethiopia,
and the other offers a review about the (slow) advancement of women in
 The Work-Family Balance in Light of Globalization and Technology 3

academia. Moreover, this book not only offers empirical studies by

established scholars such as Ellen Kossek and Remus Ilies, but also
presents innovative studies by early career scholars. Although the focus of
the conference was on technology, other studies about work-family balance
in a global context were more than welcome. Thus, this book consists of 10
chapters divided into three parts: 1) Work-Family and Technology, 2)
Managers and Work-Family Balance, and 3) Globalization and Work-
Family Balance. Each contributor posits a different set of questions that
enrich the work-family balance arena.

PART 1: Technology and Work-Family Balance

In the first chapter, Rajah and Ilies developed and validated a scale on job
connectedness. Moreover, using this scale, the authors tested the
nomological network of job connectedness using, among other methods, an
experience sampling methodology (ESM) with individuals working full-
time in Singapore. Their results lead to an interesting debate about the
effects of being connected as a voluntary act compared with being
connected due to obligation.
In Chapter 2, Languilaire explored how professionals in terms of
academic staff are managing the work and non-work interface in a new
context fostered by Information Technology. Based on an inductive
research approach, Languilaire used documents, interviews and surveys as
methods to collect data. As a result, the author presents fictive stories of
employees in a Swedish University, where each story is constructed to
describe a specific work and non-work strategy to handle the new IT-based
organization.

PART 2: Managers and Work-Family Balance

In the third chapter, Kossek and her colleagues examined not only two
potential predictors (job strain and team size) of family supportive
supervisor behaviours (FSSB), but also the impact of FSSB on sleep quality
and safety performance. Using a sample of 261 employees in 71
workgroups from 12 grocery stores in the United States, the authors found
very interesting results and encourage scholars to think on a new level:
work-family subcultures.
In this line, Pasamar, who argued that managers can play contradictory
pivotal roles in organizations, examined how Human Resource Managers
perceive the positive and negative outcomes related to the implementation
of work-life benefits in two different industries in Spain. According to the
4 Introduction

author, women and those who feel their relationships between work and
non-work activities are unbalanced value more highly all of the positive
outcomes associated with work-life balance. Furthermore, HR managers in
knowledge intensive firms perceive higher positive effects of work-life
balance.
In the fifth chapter, Agha and her colleagues have made a great
contribution by developing and validating a new scale in the work-family
arena in the context of the Sultanate of Oman, which is moving towards
becoming a busy and vibrant place to work (and live). They conclude that
the work-life balance (WLB) scale with three constructs is reliable and
valid.

PART 3: Globalization and Work-Family Balance

The third part of this edited collection consists of six more chapters. In the
sixth chapter of this volume, Jaga and Bagraim examined work-family
conflict among a specific cultural group: Hindu women in South Africa.
According to the authors, when Hindu women marry, they are expected to
assume a number of important traditional roles. In order to gain a
meaningful understanding of work-family conflict among Hindu women,
the authors tested their hypothesis with survey data from 317 participants.
Their results evidence the importance of culturally sensitive work-family
research.
In chapter seven, Boiarintseva and Ezzedeen offer the reader a review
about the advancement of women in academia. The results of their study
show that although women have made significant gains in universities,
gender inequality still exists. Today, women continue to be under-
represented in universities both across North America and internationally,
and in order to reverse the situation, work-family policies are required.
In chapter eight, Hailu Gudeta and Van Engen examine the community
roles of women entrepreneurs in Ethiopia. Through conducting 25 in-depth
interviews with women entrepreneurs, the authors found that participating
in the community is a role that women should fulfil and not following this
social obligation/expectation might have repercussions for them.
Furthermore, this situation creates important challenges to combining work
and family duties.
In the ninth chapter, Kim, Las Heras and Bosch examined why some
individuals experience more enrichment than others. By conducting a
qualitative study, the authors found that motivation, previous enrichment
experience, and work-family boundary management facilitate enrichment
and the transfer of resources from one role to another. Moreover, their
 The Work-Family Balance in Light of Globalization and Technology 5

results revealed that this transfer can be unconscious and unintentional.

In the tenth chapter of this collection, Matzner-Heruti and Cohen-Israeli
examine work-family integration of Israeli married and divorced fathers,
both legally and empirically. Their analysis reveals that with regard to legal
entitlement, paternal care is residual to maternal care, demonstrating that
according to societal expectations, fatherly care is secondary to motherly
care.
Finally, the last chapter draws from qualitative interviews with low-
income parents in four regions in the United States who currently or
previously received child care subsidies. Henly, Sandstrom and Ros Pilarz
assess the child care assistance program’s contribution to family economic
wellbeing and caregiving needs, with particular attention to how parents
perceive the benefits and challenges of using child care subsidies. They find
that child care assistance is a critical economic and caregiving support to
low-income families, but its benefits are sometimes limited due to
administrative program hassles and unstable employment circumstances
that can complicate subsidy use. Implications for child care and
employment policy are also discussed in this last chapter.
Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to the members of the
ICWF Board, Ellen Gallinsky, Ellen Kossek, Tim Hall, Brad Harrington,
and Susan Lewis, for their advice. Sincere thanks also go to all of the
scholars that participated in the six ICWF conferences. Thanks also to all
the ICWF staff who helped to organize the conference and this collection:
Ana Amat and Camila Cepeda. Finally, thanks also to Cambridge Scholars
Publishing, especially Victoria Carruthers, for their interest, time and
patience.

Mireia las Heras

Nuria Chinchilla
Marc Grau
ICWF. IESE Business School

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Developing Human Resources 9, no. 4 (2007): 472–86.
Falkenberg, L., and M. Monachello. “Dual-Career and Dual-Income
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9, no. 4–5 (1990): 339–51.
Hornung, S., D. M. Rousseau, and J. Glaser. “Why Supervisors Make
Idiosyncratic Deals: Antecedents and Outcomes of I-Deals from a
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(2009): 738–64.
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Works in the Flexible Job Age. Upper Saddle River, NJ, NJ: Wharton
School Publishing., 2008.
Mazmanian, M., W. J. Orlikowski, and J. Yates. “The Autonomy Paradox:
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Professionals.” Organization Science 24, no. 5 (2013): 1337–57.
Murray, William C, and Adam Rostis. “‘Who’s Running the Machine?’ A
Theoretical Exploration of Work Stress and Burnout of Technologically
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Boundaries of Work-Family Research: A Vision Fo the Future.
Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.
Sweet, S. The Work-Family Interface: An Introduction. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage, 2014.
Valcour, P. M., and L. W. Hunter. “Technology, Organizations, and Work-
Life Integration.” In Managing Work-Life Integration in Organizations:
Future Directions for Research and Practice, edited by Ellen E. Kossek
and Susan J. Lambert, 61–84. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2005.
 PART I:

TECHNOLOGY AND
WORK-FAMILY BALANCE
 1

TECHNOLOGY AND
WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION:
INTRODUCING THE NOMOLOGICAL
NETWORK OF JOB CONNECTEDNESS1

RASHIMAH RAJAH
KOBLENZ UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES, GERMANY
AND REMUS ILIES
NUS BUSINESS SCHOOL, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE

Introduction
Technology is so integral in the daily functioning of our work lives that few
firms do without it. For the most part, technology has brought benefits to
organizations, increasing work productivity, especially for firms which tend
to use more skilled labor (Bresnahan, Brynjolfsson, and Hitt 2002).
Employees can now stay connected to work matters through devices such
as laptops, desk computers, PDAs, and smart phones, and through
innovations such as video conferencing and email. This increased
connectivity makes it possible for working individuals to attend to work
matters anywhere, including from home and other remote locations. While
such arrangements afford greater flexibility and autonomy to individuals,
there is also a tendency for them to be constantly connected, or “digitally
tied”, to work via these devices and innovations.
Existing literature has yielded mixed findings with regards to using
technology to work remotely. For instance, in their meta-analysis of
telecommuting, Gajendran and Harrison (2007) found that the increased
flexibility and locus of control that individuals have as a result of such

1 We would like to acknowledge the National Youth Council of Singapore for

funding this research.

 Technology and Work-Life Integration 9

working arrangements lead to greater job satisfaction and lower work-

family conflict. However, it has also been found to be positively related to
burnout and work-family conflict as work matters permeate personal
boundaries more easily through higher connectivity (Golden 2012).
Furthermore, there are varying responses to boundary interruptions between
individuals. While some individuals are open to such interruptions, others
get upset or annoyed as they prefer to keep their work and nonwork
boundaries separate (Olson-Buchanan and Boswell 2006). Given these
inconsistent behaviors and attitudes among individuals, it is surprising that
research examining both the positive and negative outcomes in one setting
has been scant. Our research aims to address these gaps in literature by
examining the psychological processes behind staying connected to work
matters through communication technologies. This behavior is termed job
connectedness.
There are few things that attract responses as ambivalent as those
towards using information and communication technologies (ICT) devices
for working remotely. While the increased connectivity afforded by such
innovations allow employees to gain control over work from different
locations, the permeability of work matters into individuals’ personal
boundaries tends to create a sense of loss of control as well. Despite
advancements in research in this area, gaps persist in literature examining
mechanisms that can account for the positive and negative outcomes of
staying connected through technology. Grounded in boundary management
theory, this chapter takes a closer look as to why staying connected to the
job through technological devices can have either positive or negative
outcomes. To this end, we introduce the concept of job connectedness,
develop and validate a normative scale of job connectedness, and explore
its nomological network using results from an experience sampling study
with over 1500 data-points from full-time employees.

Job Connectedness
Other than allowing employees to engage in work when and where they
choose to, flexible work arrangements also allow individuals to
communicate and remain connected remotely. This is beneficial for
employees as they are able to continue performing their work roles
efficiently despite being physically absent (Kossek, Lautsch, and Eaton
2006). Individuals are able to interact with external parties for work-related
matters while having full access to internal company or relevant data.
However, the connectedness that facilitates individuals in their work can
also be a source of additional work demand when work matters disrupt
10 1

individuals’ personal domains (Derks et al. 2016; Schaufeli and Bakker

2004). The same device (e.g., a smart phone) can be viewed as both helpful
and dreadful to employees (Middleton 2008).
We define job connectedness as the extent to which individuals remain
connected to job matters via communication technologies from a location
other than the central or primary workplace. For job connectedness to occur,
all three of the following elements must be present. First, individuals are
connected for job-related matters. Using communication technologies for
personal or social activities such as personal phone calls, browsing through
social media websites such as Facebook, and checking personal emails, do
not fall under the conceptualization of job connectedness. Second,
individuals should be connected from a remote location away from the
workplace. Job connectedness can occur at home, when commuting, or in
other places individuals are currently in, such as a hotel room, a coffee shop,
or a conference venue. Being physically in the office, despite regularly
checking and sending emails, does not constitute job connectedness. Third,
communication technologies are used. These include devices such as the
mobile or smart phone, laptops, and tablets, and are complemented by
innovations such as email, instant messaging, and video conferencing. Face
to face meetings with clients (despite being done in a remote location), for
example, is not considered to fall under the definition of job connectedness.
Job connectedness is also measured as an objective behavior free of
attitudinal attachment. Whether one is connected to work matters
voluntarily or involuntarily is not captured in the conceptualization of this
construct. Admittedly, whether an individual checks his or her work email
voluntarily or answers a work-related phone call involuntarily affects the
direction of well-being outcomes. While we do not differentiate between
the nature of job connectedness in measuring this behavior, we take
individual motivations into account when testing the proposed research
model. Some jobs also tend to have lower base rates of job connectedness.
Where physical presence is required as part of the job (e.g., librarian,
cashier, bank teller etc.), there tend to be fewer opportunities to be
connected to the job remotely. Yet, we argue that job connectedness
remains an important construct for closer examination due to the increasing
pool of knowledge workers in our workforce who often use communication
technologies for work-related purposes.

Boundary Management Theory

Boundary theory proposes that individuals develop boundaries between
their work and personal lives by integrating and/or segmenting the domains
 Technology and Work-Life Integration 11

(Hall and Richter 1988). It is based on the idea that individuals hold
multiple important roles across different domains, and navigate their
boundaries by making transitions between their roles held within and
between domains (Ashforth, Kreiner, and Fugate 2000). Integration refers
to when individuals make no distinction between their work and personal
domains as they maintain work and personal life as freely interacting
domains. There is high permeability and high flexibility of domain
boundaries. Segmentation, on the other hand, refers to when individuals
keep work and personal domains strictly separate. Individuals allocate a
certain time and space for matters relating to each domain, and do not allow
elements of one domain to penetrate the other (Ashforth et al. 2000).
We propose that individuals’ integration preference impacts the
relationship between job connectedness and its outcomes. For individuals
with high integration preference, being connected to job matters remotely is
perceived favorably as individuals are allowed to integrate their work roles
into their personal domain, attending to work matters behaviorally when
they are physically in another domain. As a result, they tend to have higher
control over their desired level of work-life balance, and thus experience
higher levels of well-being. This proposed relationship will be expounded
upon as we explain the proposed model for this study.

Nomological Network of Job Connectedness

Figure 1.1 shows the various well-being outcomes of job connectedness, as
well as the potential moderators and mediator that can explain why
engagement in the same behavior can lead to differing consequences for
individuals. While we note that we mention “life boundaries” and “personal
domains” in conceptualizing the variables surrounding job connectedness,
we are measuring work-family conflict as a proxy for examining issues on
work-life balance, which is admittedly only a sub-dimension of the grander
work-life boundary. As one of the initial studies conducted in job
connectedness, we shall first use work-family conflict as an outcome
measure and in the future move towards more comprehensive measures of
overall work-life conflict.

Moderators
Integration Preference

Job connectedness brings benefits to individuals who value flexibility and

autonomy over how and when their work goals are accomplished. Yet,
12 1

because being connected to work can interfere with individuals’ personal

domains, some individuals may prefer to have lower flexibility and
autonomy in their jobs if they can keep their work and personal boundaries
separate. Such individuals, that is, those with high segmentation (low
integration) preferences, tend to engage in less job connectedness and
disengage themselves from work outside of the workplace, even if the
organization allows them to work remotely (Kossek et al. 2006).
Individuals who prefer to restrict their work life to the workplace are
less likely to perform work-related tasks outside of the office, and are also
less likely to respond to work-related emails and phone calls remotely.
Furthermore, they tend to view work-related disruptions via communication
technologies less favorably, as these disruptions are perceived as additional
job demands (Baethge, Rigotti, and Roe 2015). However, individuals with
higher integration preferences are not only more open to receiving work-
related queries from a remote location (e.g., at home); they also tend to
favor flexible work arrangements which facilitate job connectedness.
An individual with a low integration preference will perceive a loss of
psychological control over their work-life balance when they have to be
connected to job matters remotely, as work matters seep into their family
and personal boundaries beyond their ideal level. Individuals with high
integration preferences who engage in high levels of job connectedness, on
the other hand, are able to be connected to their work while fulfilling family
and personal responsibilities. They are able to schedule for themselves
work tasks as well as personal goals. In addition, as work and personal
boundaries are highly flexible and permeable to them, being contacted
during non-working hours is not perceived as a major disruption or job
demand. Individuals whose levels of job connectedness are in line with
their integration preferences have higher psychological control over their
boundaries as their work behaviors and preferences are in accordance to
their subjective perceptions of a work-life balance. Therefore, we postulate:

Hypothesis 1: Integration preference moderates the relationship between job

connectedness and psychological control over work-life balance, such that
the relationship is positive when integration preference is high, and negative
when it is low.

Voluntariness

Whether individuals perceive a sense of increased control over their work-

life boundaries, or a sense of loss of this type of control, depends on the
nature of the job connectedness behavior. Job connectedness that is more
voluntary in nature will tend to lead to positive outcomes, because
 Technology and Work-Life Integration 13

connecting remotely to job matters out of choice allows individuals to tailor

their daily schedules to fit their work and personal obligations.
Connecting to work through e-mails while commuting to work, for
example, can allow individuals to have a head start to tackling their work
demands, and subsequently plan how they would carry out their personal
errands. This allows individuals to have increased control of their
boundaries and can better determine how they will achieve their ideal level
of work-life balance. Individuals who are connected out of necessity,
however, will tend to feel added pressure and may experience a loss of
control over their boundaries. An example is when individuals feel
compelled to connect to work matters when they are engaging in social
activities, unable to achieve the work-life balance according to their
preferences. Thus, we arrive at the following:

Hypothesis 2: Voluntariness moderates the relationship between job

connectedness and psychological control over work-life balance, such that
the relationship is positive when voluntariness is high, and negative when it
is low.

Outcomes
In the context of performance, individuals who have higher levels of job
connectedness tend to receive better performance appraisals. This is
because being available for work-related queries and tasks serves well for
individuals’ career outcomes as they are perceived as reliable,
conscientious, and selfless (Leslie et al. 2012). When managers perceive
that employees take advantage of flexible work arrangements to pursue
productivity, rather than personal, reasons, these individuals will be viewed
more favorably in terms of performance.
Despite its apparent positive relationship with job performance, job
connectedness is not always positively associated with employee well-
being. Findings from previous research seem to indicate that job
connectedness has positive effects on job satisfaction, as well as reducing
work-family conflict, as individuals are able to tailor their environment to
fulfill both work and family responsibilities (Gajendran and Harrison 2007;
Rhoades and Eisenberger 2002). Yet, other scholarly works found work-
family conflict to increase when individuals remain connected to work
matters at home (Olson-Buchanan and Boswell 2006).
We highlighted previously that psychological control over work-life
balance can help account for why engagement in the same behavior (job
connectedness) can lead to positive or negative outcomes. As our main
research contribution lies in finding the mechanism that explains the
14 1

theoretical gap in literature, that is, to explain the divergent effects of job
connectedness, we list the relationships between job connectedness and its
outcomes in relation to its moderators and mediator.

Figure 1.1 Proposed nomological network of job connectedness

Job
+ Satisfaction
Psychological
Job Control over =
Connectedness Work-Life
Balance Work-
+ + Family
= Conflict
Integration
Voluntariness
Preference
Burnout

Job Satisfaction

Job connectedness is made more possible through flexible working

arrangements, which essentially allow individuals to choose the location
and timings when they wish to work. Such arrangements send a signal to
employees that members of the organization care for the well-being of the
employees, as employees are provided flexibility and autonomy over their
working conditions (Rhoades and Eisenberger 2002). In addition, by
providing the necessary tools to enable job connectedness, the organization
is perceived to be providing additional support and resources to facilitate
employees in their work roles (Demerouti et al. 2001; Schaufeli and Bakker
2004).
To the extent that these resources and support are in line with
individuals’ integration preferences, job connectedness will be positively
related to job satisfaction. However, when individuals have low integration
preferences, and/or when these “resources” are perceived to be additional
demands and are out of line with individuals’ integration preferences, lower
levels of job satisfaction will result. When individuals are connecting out of
choice instead of necessity, that is, when the nature of job connectedness is
voluntary, individuals will also experience higher job satisfaction. Thus, we
predict the following:
 Technology and Work-Life Integration 15

Hypothesis 3a: Integration preference moderates the relationship between

job connectedness and job satisfaction, such that the relationship is positive
when integration preference is high, and negative when it is low.

Hypothesis 3b: Voluntariness moderates the relationship between job

connectedness and job satisfaction, such that the relationship is positive
when voluntariness is high, and negative when it is low.

Work-Family Conflict

Work-family conflict refers to a situation where participation in one role is

incompatible with, or makes it difficult for, participation in another role
(Greenhaus and Beutell 1985). Individuals who connect to their jobs
voluntarily can tailor their environments to fulfill their duties, including
family responsibilities (Rau and Hyland 2002). However, employees are
conflicted when it comes to fulfilling both duties simultaneously. On one
hand, individuals who attempt to accommodate work into their personal
lives experience work-family conflict as they may be unable to perform
their domestic roles efficiently (Ahuja et al. 2007). Constantly checking
work-related emails at the dinner table, for instance, may upset family
members as individuals are expected to be socially engaged during meals.
On the other hand, individuals who attempt to accommodate their
personal lives into work are deemed by supervisors to be self-serving,
resulting in career penalties (Leslie et al. 2012). Employees are not
perceived favorably when they delay replies to emails in order to run an
errand for the family. To this end, we propose that the relationship between
job connectedness and work-family conflict is moderated by integration
preference and voluntariness, where higher levels of integration preference
and voluntariness buffer the negative associations of job connectedness to
work-family conflict. Thus, the following are postulated:

Hypothesis 4a: Integration preference moderates the relationship between

job connectedness and work-family conflict such that the relationship is
negative when integration preference is high, and positive when it is low.

Hypothesis 4b: Voluntariness moderates the relationship between job

connectedness and work-family conflict such that the relationship is
negative when voluntariness is high, and positive when it is low.
16 1

Burnout

Job burnout is typically examined as an outcome of job demands, role stress,

and emotional labor (Brotheridge and Grandey 2002). Similarly, we
examine burnout as a consequence of job connectedness, not only due to the
additional demands and obligations associated with constantly remaining
connected to job matters, but also because individuals can be less capable of
maintaining their desired level of work-life balance through it.
Where job connectedness leads to a perceived imbalance between the
demands of work and the demands of individuals’ personal lives (Derks et
al. 2016), individuals who remain connected to job matters within their
personal boundaries will tend to experience burnout. Yet, when individual
integration preference is high, virtual communications are welcome as
individuals are able to communicate regarding work matters remotely while
engaging in activities in their own personal and social domains, as per their
liking. Individuals who engage in job connectedness voluntarily are also
able to make such communications more meaningful as they are selective
with whom they interact with in accomplishing their work tasks. Hence,
we arrive at the following:

Hypothesis 5a: Integration preference moderates the relationship between

job connectedness and burnout such that the relationship is negative when
integration preference is high, and positive when it is low.

Hypothesis 5b: Voluntariness moderates the relationship between job

connectedness and burnout such that the relationship is negative when
voluntariness is high, and positive when it is low.

Exploratory Relationships
Psychological Control over Work-life Balance

We argue that job connectedness is linked to well-being outcomes not

through objective measures of work-life balance, but via the psychological
control individuals have over this balance. This is because individuals do
not have the same standard or agreement as to what exactly constitutes
work-life balance (Reiter 2007). Yet, when individuals perceive that their
subjective standards of work-life balance can be attained, they not only
experience greater well-being, but are also more motivated to maintain that
balance. Job connectedness has the ability to give individuals that
psychological control, while at the same time causing individuals to
perceive a loss of control over their boundaries. At desired levels, job
 Technology and Work-Life Integration 17

connectedness leads to greater well-being among individuals as they are

able to gain control over work matters despite being in a different domain
physically. Employees are satisfied as a result of this increased amount of
psychological control (Gajendran and Harrison 2007). Job connectedness
leads to higher levels of perceived control not only over work-related
issues, but also over personal boundaries.
To the extent that job connectedness causes individuals to have
increased psychological control over their desired levels of work-life
balance, job connectedness is related to positive well-being outcomes, such
as higher job satisfaction, lower work-family conflict, and lower levels of
burnout. In this discussion, it is important to note that it is not the level of
job connectedness per se that leads to positive or negative outcomes.
Rather, it depends on whether the level of connectedness coincides with
individuals’ preferences in their pursuit of achieving work-life balance. We
do not offer formal hypotheses with regard to psychological control over
work-life balance. Rather, we will conduct exploratory analyses to examine
the role of this construct in affecting the relationships between job
connectedness and its well-being outcomes.

Method
Overview
There were two studies in this research. Study 1 aimed to develop and
validate a scale on job connectedness. Study 2 used the established job
connectedness scale to test the research hypotheses posited above, using
experience sampling methodology (ESM). Study 1 was completed with 122
full-time working adults in Singapore. Study 2 was completed with a
separate sample of 115 full-time working adults, also in Singapore.

Sample
For Study 1, participants received the Web link to the survey designed for
the validation study. For Study 2, participants who consented to
participating in the study received an email with more details to the ESM
study, as well as the Web link to the one-time survey. Participants in Study
2 were reimbursed S$50 (~US$40) for completion of the study. Participants
who did not participate in the study in its entirety were reimbursed pro rata.
80% of the respondents answered at least 12 out of 15 ESM surveys, and
there were 1515 data-points.
18 1

Procedure
For the main study (Study 2), data was collected in two phases. For the first
phase, after registration for the study was complete, they were asked to fill
in a one-time survey. The one-time survey assessed integration preference
and demographic information. In the second phase, individuals participated
in an ESM study that lasted for five days, i.e., Monday to Friday.
Participants completed online surveys on job connectedness when they
received notifications from the researcher. Notifications were sent to
participants’ mobile phones.
Participants filled in the ESM surveys three times a day—in the
morning, afternoon, and at night. Participants were asked to report their
thoughts, feelings, and behaviors between 6am to 12pm for the morning
survey, between 12pm and 6pm for the afternoon survey, and between 6pm
and the end of the day for the survey at night. The three surveys assessed
levels of job connectedness and level of voluntariness of job connectedness.
The night survey assessed individuals’ reported levels of psychological
control over their work-life balance, job satisfaction, work-family conflict,
and burnout at the end of the day.
The mobile nature of this methodology allowed participants to respond
to the items from any location they were currently in. This reflected the
synchronous dynamics present in job connectedness, making ESM the
appropriate tool to measure engagement in this behavior. Data were
analyzed using multilevel modeling to examine within- and between-
individual effects.

Measures
Job Connectedness: Scale Development

As job connectedness is a newly introduced construct, we developed a job

connectedness scale (Study 1). In the first phase, we conducted structured
qualitative interviews with four individuals who use ICT devices for work-
related matters remotely. In these interviews, participants were asked on
their usage of communication technologies for work, and their attitudes
towards being connected to work. After collating the open-ended responses,
we created a list of 16 items based on our conceptualization of job
connectedness as well as on the participants’ reported behaviors. We then
refined the list based on feedback gathered from experts to ten items. Then,
items were posted in a survey online. In addition, we included scales of
related constructs—technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW)
 Technology and Work-Life Integration 19

(Fenner and Renn 2009) and telecommuting—to examine if job

connectedness is distinct from other factors.
122 full-time employees responded to the online survey. The mean age
was 40.69 (SD=13.4), and men made up 51% of the respondents. Next, we
analyzed the data collected from phase three using factor analysis. After
dropping four items from the original job connectedness scale as they had
loadings of less than 0.4, the factor loadings for the three variables fell
nicely into three factors. PCA results are found in Table 1.1, and job
connectedness was found to be distinct from related scales such as TASW
and telecommuting.
TASW refers to in-role work behaviors that individuals engage in
outside of traditional working hours using technological devices (Fenner
and Renn 2009). Telecommuting refers to formal work arrangements
between employees and their superiors and colleagues to have a set amount
of time working away from the physical realms of the office. Job
connectedness is conceptually distinct from TASW in that it is not confined
to in-role work behaviors, and individuals can be connected during working
hours as the flexibility afforded by ICT devices allow them to check in to
work matters during traditional working hours, but from a remote location.
Job connectedness is also not a formal work arrangement like in
telecommuting, because individuals can engage in job connectedness
anywhere and at any time, and this is not necessarily pre-arranged with
other members of the organization. Job connectedness is not only
conceptually distinct from TASW and telecommuting, but results from the
validation study showed that it is empirically distinct as well.

Table 1.1 Principal component analysis results

Items 1 2 3
Job Connectedness 1: Outside of the workplace,
I remain connected to work-related matters via
0.83
communications-based technology (e.g., emails,
mobile phones, etc.).
Job Connectedness 2: I check work-related
emails regularly when I am away from the 0.64
office.
Job Connectedness 3: When I am away from
the office, I check my phone history often to 0.72
check if I have missed any calls from work.
Job Connectedness 4: I have a laptop that I use
at home and/or at other places outside of the 0.53
office to communicate with my co-workers.
20 1

Job Connectedness 5: I have at least one mobile

phone that I use for work-related matters 0.73
outside of the office.
Job Connectedness 6: I am not contactable for
work-related matters outside of the office.
0.55
(reverse-coded)

TASW 1: When I fall behind in my work

during the day, I work hard at home at night or
0.82
on weekends to get caught up by using my
mobile phone, pager, Blackberry, or computer.
TASW 2: I leave my mobile phone, pager or
Blackberry turned off and do not use my
0.68
computer for work-related tasks when I return
home from work at night.
TASW 3: I perform job-related tasks at home or
on weekends using my mobile phone, pager, 0.58
Blackberry or computer.
TASW 4: I feel my mobile phone, pager,
Blackberry or computer is helpful in enabling
0.87
me to work at nights or on weekends.

Telecommuting 1: In an average work week,

what is the percentage of your total working
0.83
time spent telecommuting (e.g., working from
home or a location other than the office)?
Telecommuting 2: Indicate the average number
of hours you consistently spend away from the 0.86
office working as a telecommuter per week.
Note: Factor loadings less than .40 are not reported.

Next, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted, where items

from the job connectedness, TASW, and telecommuting scales were tested
for goodness-of-fit in a three-factor model. The three-factor model had
adequate fit (Chi-square=80.1, df=51, p<.05, CFI=.941, RMSEA=.069).
The three-factor model had a better fit than a one-factor model (Chi-
square=141.4, df=54, p<.05, CFI=.822, RMSEA=.116). As job
connectedness and TASW were highly correlated (r=.78), a two-factor
model was tested with items of job connectedness and TASW placed
together under one factor. The two-factor model did not have good fit (Chi-
square=112.4, df=53, p<.05, CFI=.879, RMSEA=.096) compared to the
three-factor model, providing support that job connectedness, TASW, and
telecommuting are empirically distinct. CFA results are found in Figure
1.2.
 Technology and Work-Life Integration 21

Figure 1.2 Confirmatory factor analysis results

JC1 Goodness-of-fit (3-factor model)

.67*** Chi-square = 80.068, Degrees of
freedom = 51, p = .006
JC2
79**

JC3 .68***

Job
JC4 Connectedness
.65***

JC5 63**

.49**
JC6R .78***

TASW1 .70***

.82*** Technology- .25

TASW2 Assisted
Supplemental
.65** Work
TASW3
.29*
.73**
TASW4

.78***
TELE1 Telecommuting
.63
TELE2

Voluntariness

The nature of job connectedness engaged by individuals was measured by

first asking them to respond to the job connectedness items, and
subsequently asking them to which extent their job connectedness behavior
was voluntary. Participants responded to a Likert scale (1=Not voluntary to
5=Mostly Voluntary). An N/A option was also available in instances where
participants were not engaged in job connectedness at all during the
specific periods outlined in the ESM survey.
22 1

Integration Preference

Integration preference was assessed by modifying Kreiner’s (2006)

segmentation preference scale to reflect integration preference. Items are “I
like to think about work when I am at home”, “I prefer to integrate my work
life into my personal life”, “I don’t mind work issues entering my personal
life”, and “I like to be able to continue work when I go home or when I am
out of the office”. The internal reliability of the scale for this study was .78.

Psychological Control over Work-life Balance

As there is no existing scale on psychological control over work-life

balance, the work-life balance scale developed by Hill and colleagues
(2001) was adapted to reflect individual perceived control over their work-
life balance. Examples of items are “Today, I had control over how to
balance the demands of my work and my personal/family life” and “Today,
I could determine the amount of time away from my job to maintain
adequate work and personal/family life balance”. The internal reliability
score was .92.

Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction was assessed by the 5-item version of the scale developed
by Brayfield and Rothe (1951). The momentary component was included in
the items. Sample items are “At the present moment, I am fairly satisfied
with my job”, and “I found real enjoyment in my job today”. The internal
reliability of the job satisfaction scale was .82.

Work-Family Conflict

Work-family conflict was measured using the scale developed by

Netemeyer, Boles, and McMurrian (1996). Respondents were asked to
respond to items indicating how matters can interfere with family activities.
Items include “Today, my job produced strain and made it difficult to fulfill
family duties” and “Today, things I wanted to do at home did not get done
because of the demands my job put on me”. This scale had an internal
reliability of .93.

Burnout

Burnout was assessed using a shortened version of the Maslach Burnout

 Technology and Work-Life Integration 23

Inventory (MBI; Maslach and Jackson 1981). Sample items are “At this
present moment, I feel frustrated by my job” and “Today, working with
people directly put too much stress on me”. Respondents were asked to
respond to these daily measures (job satisfaction, work-family conflict,
burnout etc.) according to how they thought and felt on that particular day.
This is because these outcome levels can fluctuate from day to day,
depending on the individual’s activities and psychological states.
Cronbach’s alpha for the burnout scale was .93.

Controls

Individual differences such as age, gender, and organizational tenure were

controlled for. Typically, employees who are older and who have worked
longer have low preference for integration, and women tend to favor more
flexible and permeable boundaries (Olson-Buchanan and Boswell 2006;
Rothbard, Phillips, and Dumas 2005). In addition, the number of children
was used as a control as previous studies have found that the number of
children at home affects individuals’ desire to integrate and impacts work-
family conflict (Rothbard et al. 2005).

Results
In Study 2, 9.57% indicated that they worked in healthcare, 3.48% in
manufacturing, 13.04% in education, 16.52% in banking or finance, 1.74%
in insurance, 3.48% in communications, 1.74% in transportation, 8.7% in
government, 6.96% in retail, 0.87% in hospitality, 6.96% in engineering, and
26.96% of the participants indicated that they worked in other industries.
Table 1.2 shows the correlation coefficients of all the variables in the study.
Internal reliabilities are reflected in this table in the parentheses. Integration
preference was positively correlated with job connectedness (r=.25, p<.01).
A perceived sense of control over work-life boundaries was also positively
correlated to well-being (r=.43, p<.01 for job satisfaction, r=-.51, p<.01 for
work-family conflict, and r=-.39, p<.01 for burnout). Employees with longer
tenures (r=.23, p<.05) and women (r=-.20, p<.05) tended to have higher
integration preference. Interestingly, although job connectedness was
thought to be more popular among youths who are generally more
technologically savvy, age did not have a significant correlation with job
connectedness. Multilevel modeling was used as a tool for data analysis, as
days (level 1) are nested within individuals (level 2), and multilevel analyses
account for level 2 dependencies.
24 1

Table 1.2 Means, standard deviations, and correlations of variables

aNote: Gender was coded 1 for males, and 2 for females

Mean SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
1 Age 30.33 0.87 -
2 Gendera 1.57 0.50 -.11 -
Organizational
3 40.46 45.2 .47** -.01 -
Tenure
No. of
4 0.34 0.77 .65** .00 .43** -
Children
Integration
5 2.55 0.88 .15 -.20* .23* .12 (.78)
Preference
Job
6 2.92 0.60 .05 -.09 .09 .00 .25** (.91)
Connectedness
7 Voluntariness 3.25 1.00 -.01 -.08 -.04 .00 .30** .06 -
Psychological
Control over
8 3.66 0.57 .15 -.08 -.03 .02 .03 -.22* .31** (.92)
Work-Life
Balance
Job
9 3.29 0.58 .12 -.19* -.10 .03 .32** .01 .22* .43** (.82)
Satisfaction
Work-Family -
10 2.41 0.66 -.17 .03 .15 .04 .02 .29** .05 -.51** (.93)
Conflict .34**
-
11 Burnout 2.70 0.69 -.15 -.20* .10 -.09 -.22* .16 -.12 -.39** .66** (.93)
.66**
Notes: SD = standard deviation (between-individual). Correlations represent between-individual (aggregated) correlations (n = 115).
Figures in parentheses denote internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha). * p < .05 ** p < .01
 Technology and Work-Life Integration 25

Hypothesis 1 was tested using the HLM software. To test the

interaction effect of integration preference and job connectedness on
psychological control over work-life balance, deviation scores were first
obtained by subtracting person-mean scores from daily scores for both
integration preference and job connectedness. The product term from these
two deviation scores was then used for analyzing the moderation effect as
postulated in Hypothesis 1. Setting psychological control over work-life
balance as the outcome variable, multilevel modeling was conducted by
inputting job connectedness (group-centered), integration preference
(group-centered), and the product term (uncentered). Table 1.3 shows the
outcome of the multilevel analysis for Hypothesis 1. Hypothesis 1 was not
supported. Integration preference did not have an interaction effect with
job connectedness on psychological control over work-life balance.

Table 1.3 Regression coefficients from multilevel analysis (Hypothesis 1)

Variables Psychological Control over Work-Life Balance

β (Step 1) β (Step 2) β (Step 3) β (Step 4)
Control Variables
Age .023** .023** .023** .023**
Gender -.119 -.105 -.093 -.096
Organizational Tenure -.001 -.001 -.001 -.001
Number of Children -.068 -.086 -.088 -.086

Independent Variable
Job Connectedness -.258** -.257** -.258**

Moderator Variable
Integration Preference .046 .040

Product Term
Job Connectedness X Integration
Preference .037
2
R .024 .052 .054 .054
Δ R2 .028* .002 0

*p < .05, **p < .01

Multilevel modeling was conducted as well to test Hypothesis 2. Table

1.4 shows the outcome of adding voluntariness as a moderator variable,
and Figure 1.3 shows the interaction plot of job connectedness and
voluntariness on psychological control over work-life balance. Results
from Table 1.4 and Figure 1.3 show an interaction between job
connectedness and voluntariness on individuals’ levels of perceived
control over their work-life balance (=.423, p<.05). Individuals who are
highly connected to their jobs voluntarily generally had higher
 26 1

psychological control over their work-life boundaries. Hence, Hypothesis

2 was supported.

Table 1.4 Regression coefficients from multilevel analysis (Hypothesis 2)

Variables Psychological Control over Work-Life Balance

β (Step 1) β (Step 2) β (Step 3) β (Step 4)
Control Variables
Age .023** .023** .017* .017*
Gender -.119 -.105 -.039 -.047
Organizational Tenure -.001 -.001 -.001 .000
Number of Children -.069 -.086 -.045 -.065

Independent Variable
Job Connectedness -.258** -.289* -.253*

Moderator Variable
Voluntariness .076 .082

Product Term
Job Connectedness X .423*
Voluntariness

R2 .047 .058 .084

Δ R2 .024 .023 .009* .026*

*p < .05, **p < .01

Figure 1.3 Interaction plot for job connectedness and voluntariness on

psychological control over work-life balance

4
Control over Work-Life Balance

3.8

3.6
Low Voluntariness

3.4 High Voluntariness

3.2

3
Low Job Connectedness High Job Connectedness

Next, integration preference was tested as a moderating variable against

the outcomes. Hypotheses 3a, 4a, and 5a were tested. Table 1.5 shows the
 Technology and Work-Life Integration 27

results of the multilevel analyses with all the outcomes. Integration

preference had a direct effect on the outcomes in the directions as expected
(=.227, p<.05 on job satisfaction, =-.092, n.s. on work-family conflict,
=-.222, p<.01 on burnout). However, it did not interact with job
connectedness as hypothesized. Hypotheses 3a, 4a, and 5a were not
supported. Similar steps were taken in testing the interaction effect of
voluntariness and job connectedness, with results shown in Table 1.6.
Direct effects were observed, but not interaction effects.
To explore the mediating relationships, the following steps were taken.
First, we examined the main effect between job connectedness and the
outcomes. Job connectedness was negatively related to job satisfaction (=-
.164, p<.05), positively related to work-family conflict (=.226, p<.01), and
positively related to burnout (=.346, p<.01). Next, we included
psychological control over work-life balance into the model and examined
the relationship between psychological control over work-life balance and
the outcomes. Psychological control over work-life balance was positively
related to job satisfaction (=.285, p<.01), negatively related to work-
family conflict (=-.379, p<.05), and negatively related to burnout (=-
.256, p<.01).
28 1

Table 1.5 Regression coefficients from multilevel analysis (Hypotheses 3a, 4a, and 5a)
Variables Job Satisfaction Work-Family Conflict Burnout
E E E E E E E E E E E E
(Step 1) (Step 2) (Step 3) (Step 4) (Step 1) (Step 2) (Step 3) (Step 4) (Step 1) (Step 2) (Step 3) (Step 4)
Control Variables
Age .017 .016 .016 .017 -.041** -.040** -.039** -.039** -.021* -.020 -.020 -.020
Gender -.202 -.180 -.119 -.107 .027 .051 .024 .033 .244* .246* .190 .185
Organizational Tenure -.002 -.002 -.003** -.004** .003* .004* .004* .004* .003* .003* .004** .004**
Number of Children -.008 .000 -.010 -.015 .266* .245* .244* .246* -.013 -.007 .002 .005

Independent Variable
Job Connectedness -.164* -.166* -.166* .226** .239** .234** .346** .350** .350**

Moderator Variable
Integration Preference .227** .249** -.092 -.073 -.222** -.235**

Product Term
Job Connectedness X -.134 -.090 .076
Integration Preference

R2 .038 .077 .151 .152 .081 .113 .237 .300 .045 .102 .137 .137
' R2 .039* .074** .001 .032** .124 .003 .057** .035** 0
*p < .05
**p < .01
 Technology and Work-Life Integration 29
Table 1.6 Regression coefficients from multilevel analysis (Hypotheses 3b, 4b, and 5b)

Variables Job Satisfaction Work-Family Conflict Burnout

β β β β β β β β β β β β
(Step 1) (Step 2) (Step 3) (Step 4) (Step 1) (Step 2) (Step 3) (Step 4) (Step 1) (Step 2) (Step 3) (Step 4)
Control Variables
Age .017 .016 .011 .014 -.041** -.040** -.039** -.039** -.021* -.020 -.015 -.016
Gender -.202 -.180 -.170 -.139 .027 .051 -.015 -.023 .244* .246* .244 .227
Organizational Tenure -.002 -.002 -.002 -.001 .003* .004* .003* .003* .003* .003* .002 .002
Number of Children -.008 .000 .017 -.025 .266* .245* .260* .262* -.013 -.007 .006 -.003

Independent Variable
Job Connectedness -.164* -.127 -.050 .226** .267 .193 .346** .300* .278**

Moderator Variable
Voluntariness .115* .105* -.122* -.122 -.173** -.164**

Product Term
Job Connectedness X .144 -.205 .103
Voluntariness
.112
R2 .038 .077 .106 .137 .081 .113 .314 .321 .045 .102 .118
.010**
Δ R2 .039* .029* .031 .032** .201* .007 .057** .006

*p < .05
**p < .01
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spend before. I am to have fifteen hundred pounds every year. Is
that a good deal?”
“Quite enough to settle you in life, my dear!” exclaimed the
Baroness, who immediately thought what a good thing it would be if
Miss Brandt could be persuaded to sink her capital in the boot trade,
“and all under your own control too! You are a lucky young woman! I
know ’alf-a-dozen lords,—not to say Princes—who would jump at
you!”
“Princes!” cried Harriet, unable to believe her ears.
“Certainly! Not English ones of course, but German, which are
quite as good after all, for a Prince is a Prince any day! There’s
Prince Adalbert of Waxsquiemer, and Prince Harold of Muddlesheim,
and Prince Loris of Taxelmein, and ever so many more, and they’re
in and out of the Red ’Ouse, twenty times a day! But don’t you be in
an ’urry! Don’t take the first that offers, Miss Brandt! Pick and
choose! Flirt with whom you like and ’ave your fun, but wait and look
about you a bit before you decide!”
The prospect was too dazzling! Harriet Brandt’s magnificent eyes
were opened to their widest extent—her cheeks flushed with
expectation—both life and light had flashed into her countenance.
Her soul was expanding, her nature was awakening—it shone
through every feature—the Baroness had had no idea she was so
beautiful! And the hungry, yearning look was more accentuated than
before—it seemed as if she were on the alert, watching for
something, like a panther awaiting the advent of its prey. It was a
look that women would have shrunk from, and men welcomed and
eagerly responded to.
“I should like to go and see you when I go to England—very
much!” she articulated slowly.
“And so you shall, my dear! The Baron and me will be very glad to
’ave you on a visit. And you mustn’t let that capital of yours lie idle,
you know! If it’s in your own ’ands, you must make it yield double to
what it does now! You consult Gustave! ’E’s a regular business man
and knows ’ow many beans make five! ’E’ll tell you what’s best to be
done with it—’e’ll be a good friend to you, and you can trust ’im with
everything!”
“Thank you!” replied the girl, but she still seemed to be lost in a
kind of reverie. Her gaze was fixed—her full crimson lips were
slightly parted—her slender hands kept nervously clasping and
unclasping each other.
“Well, you are ’andsome and no mistake!” exclaimed the
Baroness. “You remind me a little of the Duchess of Bewlay before
she was married! The first wife, I mean—the second is a poor, pale-
faced, sandy-’aired creature. (’Ow the Dook can stomach ’er after
the other, I can’t make out!) The first Duchess’s mother was a great
flame of my grandfather, the Dook of—however, I mustn’t tell you
that! It’s a State secret, and I might get into trouble at Court! You’d
better not say I mentioned it.”
But Harriet Brandt was not in a condition to remember or repeat
anything. She was lost in a dream of the possibilities of the Future.
The bell for déjeuner roused them at last, and brought them to
their feet. They resembled each other in one particular ... they were
equally fond of the pleasures of the table.
The little Baron appeared dutifully to afford his clumsy spouse the
benefit of his support in climbing the hillocks of shifting sand, which
lay between them and the hotel, and Miss Brandt sped swiftly on her
way alone.
“I’ve been ’aving a talk with that gal Brandt,” chuckled the
Baroness to her husband, “she’s a regular green-’orn and swallows
everything you tell ’er. I’ve been stuffing ’er up, that she ought to
marry a Prince, with ’er looks and money, and she quite believes it.
But she ain’t bad-looking when she colours up, and I expect she’s
rather a warm customer, and if she takes a fancy to a man, ’e won’t
well know ’ow to get out of it! And if he tries to, she’ll make the fur fly.
Ha! ha! ha!”
“Better leave it alone, better leave it alone!” said the stolid
German, who had had more than one battle to fight already, on
account of his wife’s match-making propensities, and considered her
quite too clumsy an artificer to engage in so delicate a game.
 C H A P T E R V.
There was a marked difference observable in the manner of
Harriet Brandt after her conversation with the Baroness. Hitherto she
had been shy and somewhat diffident—the seclusion of her
conventual life and its religious teachings had cast a veil, as it were,
between her and the outer world, and she had not known how to
behave, nor how much she might venture to do, on being first cast
upon it. But Madame Gobelli’s revelations concerning her beauty
and her prospects, had torn the veil aside, and placed a talisman in
her hands, against her secret fear.
She was beautiful and dangerous—she might become a Princess
if she played her cards well—the knowledge changed the whole face
of Nature for her. She became assured, confident, and anticipatory.
She began to frequent the company of the Baroness, and without
neglecting her first acquaintances, Mrs. Pullen and her baby, spent
more time in the Gobelli’s private sitting-room than in the balcony, or
public salon, a fact for which Margaret did not hesitate to declare
herself grateful.
“I do not know how it is,” she confided to Elinor Leyton, “I rather
like the girl, and I would not be unkind to her for all the world, but
there is something about her that oppresses me. I seem never to
have quite lost the sensation she gave me the first evening that she
came here. Her company enervates me—I get neuralgia whenever
we have been a short time together—and she leaves me in low
spirits and more disposed to cry than laugh!”
“And no wonder,” said her friend, “considering that she has that
detestable school-girl habit of hanging upon one’s arm and dragging
one down almost to the earth! How you have stood it so long, beats
me! Such a delicate woman as you are too. It proves how selfish
Miss Brandt must be, not to have seen that she was distressing you!”
“Well! it will take a large amount of expended force to drag
Madame Gobelli to the ground,” said Margaret, laughing, “so I hope
Miss Brandt will direct that portion of her attention to her, and leave
me only the residue. Poor girl! she seems to have had so few people
to love, or to love her, during her lifetime, that she is glad to practise
on anyone who will reciprocate her affection. Did you see the
Baroness kissing her this morning?”
“I saw the Baroness scrubbing her beard against Miss Brandt’s
cheek, if you call that ‘kissing’?” replied Elinor. “The Baroness never
kisses! I have noticed her salute poor Bobby in the morning exactly
in the same manner. I have a curiosity to know if it hurts.”
“Why don’t you try it?” said Margaret.
“No, thank you! I am not so curious as all that! But the Gobellis
and Miss Brandt have evidently struck up a great friendship. She will
be the recipient of the Baroness’s cast-off trinkets and laces next!”
“She is too well off for that, Elinor! Madame Lamont told me she
has a fortune in her own right, of fifteen hundred a year!”
“She will want it all to gild herself with!” said Elinor.
Margaret Pullen looked at Miss Leyton thoughtfully. Did she really
mean what she said, or did her jealousy of the West Indian heiress
render her capable of uttering untruths? Surely, she must see that
Harriet Brandt was handsome—growing handsomer indeed, every
day, with the pure sea air tinting her cheeks with a delicate flush like
the inside of a shell—and that her beauty, joined to her money,
would render her a tempting morsel for the men, and a formidable
rival for the women.
“I do not think you would find many people to agree with your
opinion, Elinor!” she said after a pause, in answer to Miss Leyton’s
last remark.
“Well! I think she’s altogether odious,” replied her friend with a toss
of her head, “I thought it the first time I saw her, and I shall think it to
the last!”
It was the day that Captain Ralph Pullen was expected to arrive in
Heyst and the two ladies were preparing to go to the station to meet
him.
 “The Baroness has at all events done you one good turn,”
continued Miss Leyton, “she has delivered you for a few hours from
your ‘Old Man of the Sea.’ What have you been doing with yourself
all the morning! I expected you to meet me on the sands, after I had
done bathing!”
“I have not stirred out, Elinor. I am uneasy about baby! She does
not seem at all well. I have been waiting your return to ask you
whether I had not better send for a doctor to see her. But I am not
sure if there is such a thing in Heyst!”
“Sure to be, but don’t send unless it is absolutely necessary. What
is the matter with her?”
The nurse was sitting by the open window with little Ethel on her
lap. The infant looked much the same as usual—a little paler
perhaps, but in a sound sleep and apparently enjoying it.
“She does not seem ill to me,” continued Elinor, “is she in any
pain?”
“Not at all, Miss,” said the nurse, “and begging the mistress’s
pardon, I am sure she is frightening herself without cause. Baby is
cutting two more teeth, and she feels the heat. That’s all!”
“Why are you frightened, Margaret?” asked Miss Leyton.
“Because her sleep is unnatural, I am sure of it,” replied Mrs.
Pullen, “she slept all yesterday, and has hardly opened her eyes to-
day. It is more like torpor than sleep. We can hardly rouse her to take
her bottle and you know what a lively, restless little creature she has
always been.”
“But her teeth,” argued Elinor Leyton, “surely her teeth account for
everything! I know my sister, Lady Armisdale, says that nothing
varies so quickly as teething children—that they’re at the point of
death one hour and quite well the next, and she has five, so she
ought to know!”
“That’s quite right, Miss,” interposed the nurse, respectfully, “and
you can hardly expect the dear child to be lively when she’s in pain.
She has a little fever on her too! If she were awake, she would only
be fretful! I am sure that the best medicine for her is sleep!”
“You hear what Nurse says, Margaret, but if you are nervous, why
not send for a doctor to see her! We can ask Madame Lamont as we
go downstairs who is the best here, and call on him as we go to the
station, or we can telegraph to Bruges for one, if you think it would
be better!”
“O! no! no! I will not be foolish! I will try and believe that you and
Nurse know better than myself. I will wait at all events until to-
morrow.”
“Where has baby been this morning?”
“She was with Miss Brandt on the sands, Miss!” replied the nurse.
“Since you are so anxious about Ethel, Margaret, I really wonder
that you should trust her with a stranger like Miss Brandt! Perhaps
she let the sun beat on her head.”
“O! no, Elinor, Nurse was with them all the time. I would not let
Miss Brandt or anyone take baby away alone. But she is so good-
natured and so anxious to have her, that I don’t quite know how to
refuse.”
“Perhaps she has been stuffing the child with some of her horrid
chocolates or caramels. She is gorging them all day long herself!”
“I know my duty too well for that, Miss!” said the nurse resentfully,
“I wouldn’t have allowed it! The dear baby did not have anything to
eat at all.”
“Well! you’re both on her side evidently, so I will say no more,”
concluded Miss Leyton, “At the same time if I had a child, I’d sooner
trust it to a wild beast than the tender mercies of Miss Brandt. But it’s
past four o’clock, Margaret! If we are to reach the entrepôt in time we
must be going!”
Mrs. Pullen hastily assumed her hat and mantle, and prepared to
accompany her friend. They had opened the door, and were about to
leave the room when a flood of melody suddenly poured into the
apartment. It proceeded from a room at the other end of the corridor
and was produced by a mandoline most skilfully played. The silvery
notes in rills and trills and chords, such as might have been evolved
from a fairy harp, arrested the attention of both Miss Leyton and Mrs.
Pullen. They had scarcely expressed their wonder and admiration to
each other, at the skilful manipulation of the instrument (which
evinced such art as they had never heard before except in public)
when the strings of the mandoline were accompanied by a young,
fresh contralto voice.
“O! hush! hush!” cried Elinor, with her finger on her lip, as the rich
mellow strains floated through the corridor, “I don’t think I ever heard
such a lovely voice before. Whose on earth can it be?”
The words of the song were in Spanish, and the only one they
could recognise was the refrain of, “Seralie! Seralie!” But the melody
was wild, pathetic, and passionate, and the singer’s voice was
touching beyond description.
“Some professional must have arrived at the Hotel,” said Margaret,
“I am sure that is not the singing of an amateur. But I hope she will
not practise at night, and keep baby awake!”
Elinor laughed.
“O! you mother!” she said, “I thought you were lamenting just now
that your ewe lamb slept too much! For my part, I should like to be
lulled to sleep each night by just such strains as those. Listen,
Margaret! She has commenced another song. Ah! Gounod’s
delicious ‘Ave Maria.’ How beautiful!”
“I don’t profess to know much about music,” said Margaret, “but it
strikes me that the charm of that singing lies more in the voice than
the actual delivery. Whoever it is, must be very young!”
“Whoever it proceeds from, it is charming,” repeated Elinor. “How
Ralph would revel in it! Nothing affects him like music. It is the only
thing which makes me regret my inability to play or sing. But I am
most curious to learn who the new arrival is. Ah! here is
Mademoiselle Brimont!” she continued, as she caught sight of Olga
Brimont, slowly mounting the steep staircase, “Mademoiselle, do you
happen to know who it is who owns that lovely voice? Mrs. Pullen
and I are perfectly enchanted with it!”
Olga Brimont coloured a little. She had never got over her shyness
of the English ladies, particularly of the one who spoke so sharply.
But she answered at once,
“It is Harriet Brandt! Didn’t you know that she sang?”
Miss Leyton took a step backward. Her face expressed the
intensest surprise—not to say incredulity.
“Harriet Brandt! Impossible!” she ejaculated.
“Indeed it is she,” repeated Olga, “she always sang the solos in
the Convent choir. They used to say she had the finest voice in the
Island. O! yes, it is Harriet, really.”
And she passed on to her own apartment.
“Do you believe it?” said Elinor Leyton, turning almost fiercely
upon Mrs. Pullen.
“How can I do otherwise,” replied Margaret, “in the face of
Mademoiselle Brimont’s assertion? But it is strange that we have
heard nothing of Miss Brandt’s talent before!”
“Has she ever mentioned the fact to you, that she could sing?”
“Never! but there has been no opportunity. There is no instrument
here, and we have never talked of such a thing! Only fancy her
possessing so magnificent a voice! What a gift! She might make her
fortune by it if she needed to do so.”
“Well! she ought to be able to sing with that mouth of hers,”
remarked Miss Leyton almost bitterly, as she walked into the
corridor. She was unwilling to accord Harriet Brandt the possession
of a single good attribute. As the ladies traversed the corridor, they
perceived that others had been attracted by the singing as well as
themselves, and most of the bedroom doors were open. Mrs.
Montague caught Margaret by the sleeve as she passed.
“O! Mrs. Pullen, what a heavenly voice! Whose is it? Fred is just
mad to know!”
 “It’s only that girl Brandt!” replied Elinor roughly, as she tried to
escape further questioning.
“Miss Brandt! what, the little West Indian! Mrs. Pullen, is Miss
Leyton jesting?”
“No, indeed, Mrs. Montague! Mademoiselle Brimont was our
informant,” said Margaret.
But at that moment their attention was diverted by the appearance
of Harriet Brandt herself. She looked brilliant. In one hand she
carried her mandoline, a lovely little instrument, of sandal-wood
inlaid with mother-of-pearl,—her face was flushed with the exertion
she had gone through, and her abundant hair was somewhat in
disorder. Mrs. Montague pounced on her at once.
“O! Miss Brandt! you are a sly puss! We have all been delighted—
enchanted! What do you mean by hiding your light under a bushel in
this way? Do come in here for a minute and sing us another song!
Major Montague is in ecstasies over your voice!”
“I can’t stop, I can’t indeed!” replied Miss Brandt, evidently pleased
with the effect she had produced, “because I am on my way down to
dear Madame Gobelli. I promised to sing for her this afternoon. I was
only trying my voice to see if it was fit for anything!”
She smiled at Mrs. Pullen as she spoke and added,
“I hope I have not disturbed the darling baby! I thought she would
be out this lovely afternoon!”
“O! no! you did not disturb her. We have all been much pleased,
and surprised to think that you have never told us that you could
sing!”
“How could I tell that anyone would care about it?” replied Harriet,
indifferently, with a shrug of her shoulders. “But the Baron is very
musical! He has a charming tenor voice. I have promised to
accompany him! I mustn’t delay any longer! Good afternoon!”
And she flew down the stairs with her mandoline.
 “It is all the dear Baroness and the dear Baron now, you perceive,”
remarked Elinor to Mrs. Pullen, as they walked together to the
railway-station, “you and the baby are at a discount. Miss Brandt is
the sort of young lady, I fancy, who will follow her own interests
wherever they may lead her!”
“You should be the last to complain of her for that, Elinor, since
you have tried to get rid of her at any cost,” replied her friend.
Captain Ralph Pullen arrived punctually by the train which he had
appointed, and greeted his sister-in-law and fiancée with marked
cordiality.
He was certainly a man to be proud of, as far as outward
appearance went. He was acknowledged, by general consent, to be
one of the handsomest men in the British Army, and he was fully
aware of the fact. He was tall and well built, with good features,
almost golden hair; womanish blue eyes, and a long drooping
moustache, which he was always caressing with his left hand. He
regarded all women with the same languishing, tired-to-death
glance, as if the attentions shewn him by the beau sexe had been
altogether too much for him, and the most he could do now was to
regard them with an indolent, worn-out favour, which had had all the
excitement, and freshness, and flavour taken out of it long before.
Most women would have considered his method of treatment as
savouring little short of insult, but Elinor Leyton’s nature did not make
extravagant demands upon her lover, and so long as he dressed and
looked well and paid her the courtesies due from a gentleman to a
gentlewoman, she was quite satisfied. Margaret, on the other hand,
had seen through her brother-in-law’s affectations from the first, and
despised him for them. She thought him foolish, vain, and
uncompanionable, but she bore with him for Arthur’s sake. She
would have welcomed his cousin Anthony Pennell, though, with
twice the fervour.
Ralph was looking remarkably well. His light grey suit of tweed
was fresh and youthful looking, and the yellow rose in his buttonhole
was as dainty as if he had just walked out of his Piccadilly club. He
was quite animated (for him) at the idea of spending a short time in
Heyst, and actually went the length of informing Elinor that she
looked “very fit”, and that if it was not so public a place he should
kiss her. Miss Leyton coloured faintly at the remark, but she turned
her head away and would not let him see that she was sorry the
place was so public.
“Heyst seems to have done you both a lot of good,” Captain Pullen
went on presently, “I am sure you are fatter, Margaret, than when
you were in Town. And, by the way, how is the daughter?”
“Not very well, I am sorry to say, Ralph! She is cutting more teeth.
Elinor and I were consulting whether we should send for a doctor to
see her, only this afternoon.”
“By the way, I have good news for you, or you will consider it so.
Old Phillips is coming over to join us next week.”
“Doctor Phillips, my dear old godfather!” exclaimed Margaret, “O! I
am glad to hear it! He will set baby to rights at once. But who told
you so, Ralph?”
“The old gentleman himself! I met him coming out of his club the
other day and told him I was coming over here, and he said he
should follow suit as soon as ever he could get away, and I was to
tell you to get a room for him by next Monday!”
“I shall feel quite happy about my baby now,” said Mrs. Pullen, “I
have not much faith in Belgian doctors. Their pharmacopœia is quite
different from ours, but Doctor Phillips will see if there is anything
wrong with her at once!”
“I hope you will not be disappointed with the Hotel visitors, Ralph,”
said Elinor, “but they are a terrible set of riff-raff. It is impossible to
make friends with any one of them. They are such dreadful people!”
“O! you mustn’t class them all together, Elinor,” interposed
Margaret, “I am sure the Montagues and the Vieuxtemps are nice
enough! And du reste, there is no occasion for Ralph even to speak
to them.”
“Of course not,” said Captain Pullen, “I have come over for the
sake of your company and Margaret’s, and have no intention of
making the acquaintance of any strangers. When is the Bataille de
Fleurs? Next week? that’s jolly! Old Phillips will be here by that time,
and he and Margaret can flirt together, whilst you and I are billing
and cooing, eh, Elinor?”
“Don’t be vulgar, Ralph,” she answered, “you know how I dislike
that sort of thing! And we have had so much of it here!”
“What, billing and cooing?” he questioned. But Elinor disdained to
make any further remark on the subject.
The appearance of Ralph Pullen at the table d’hôte dinner
naturally excited a good deal of speculation. The English knew that
Mrs. Pullen expected her brother-in-law to stay with her, but the
foreigners were all curious to ascertain who the handsome, well-
groomed, military-looking stranger might be, who was so familiar
with Mrs. Pullen and her friend. The Baroness was not behind the
rest in curiosity and admiration. She was much before them in her
determination to gratify her curiosity and make the acquaintance of
the new-comer, whose name she guessed, though no introduction
had passed between them. She waited through two courses to see if
Margaret Pullen would take the initiative, but finding that she
addressed all her conversation to Captain Pullen, keeping her face,
meanwhile, pertinaciously turned from the party sitting opposite to
her, she determined to force her hand.
“Mrs. Pullen!” she cried, in her coarse voice, “when are you going
to introduce me to your handsome friend?”
Margaret coloured uneasily and murmured,
“My brother-in-law, Captain Pullen—Madame Gobelli.”
“Very glad to see you, Captain,” said the Baroness, as Ralph
bowed to her in his most approved fashion, “your sister thought
she’d keep you all to ’erself, I suppose! But the young ladies of Heyst
would soon make mincemeat of Mrs. Pullen if she tried that little
game on them. We ’aven’t got too many good-looking young men
’ereabouts, I can tell you. Are you going to stay long?”
Captain Pullen murmured something about “uncertain” and “not
being quite sure”, whilst the Baroness regarded him full in the face
with a broad smile on her own. She always had a keen eye for a
handsome young man!
“Ah! you’ll stay as long as it suits your purpose, won’t you? I
expect you ’ave your own little game to play, same as most of us!
And it’s a pretty little game, too, isn’t it, especially when a fellow’s
young and good-looking and ’as the chink-a-chink, eh?”
“I fancy I know some of your brother officers, Mr. Naggett, and
Lord Menzies, they belong to the Rangers, don’t they?” continued
Madame Gobelli, “Prince Adalbert of Waxsquiemer used to bring ’em
to the Red ’Ouse! By the way I ’aven’t introduced you to my ’usband,
Baron Gobelli! Gustave, this is Captain Ralph Pullen, the Colonel’s
brother, you know. You must ’ave a talk with ’im after dinner! You two
would ’it it off first-rate together! Gustave’s in the boot trade, you
know, Captain Pullen! We trade under the name of Fantaisie et Cie!
The best boots and shoes in London, and the largest manufactory, I
give you my word! You should get your boots from us. I know you
dandy officers are awfully particular about your tootsies. If you’ll
come and see me in London, I’ll take you over the manufactory, and
give you a pair. You’ll never buy any others, once you’ve tried ’em!”
Ralph Pullen bowed again, and said he felt certain that Madame
was right and he looked forward to the fulfilment of her promise with
the keenest anticipation.
Harriet Brandt meanwhile, sitting almost opposite to the stranger,
was regarding him from under the thick lashes of her slumbrous
eyes, like a lynx watching its prey. She had never seen so good-
looking and aristocratic a young man before. His crisp golden hair
and drooping moustaches, his fair complexion, blue eyes and
chiselled features, were a revelation to her. Would the Princes whom
Madame Gobelli had promised she should meet at her house, be
anything like him, she wondered—could they be as handsome, as
perfectly dressed, as fashionable, as completely at their ease, as the
man before her? Every other moment, she was stealing a veiled
glance at him—and Captain Pullen was quite aware of the fact. What
young man, or woman, is not aware when they are being furtively
admired? Ralph Pullen was one of the most conceited of his sex,
which is not saying a little—he was accomblé with female attentions
wherever he went, yet he was not blasé with them, so long as he
was not called upon to reciprocate in kind. Each time that Harriet’s
magnetic gaze sought his face, his eyes by some mystical chance
were lifted to meet it, and though all four lids were modestly dropped
again, their owners did not forget the effect their encounter had left
behind it.
“’Ave you been round Heyst yet, Captain Pullen,” vociferated
Madame Gobelli, “and met the Procession? I never saw such
rubbish in my life. I laughed fit to burst myself! A lot of children rigged
out in blue and white, carrying a doll on a stick, and a crowd of fools
following and singing ’ymns. Call that Religion? It’s all tommy rot.
Don’t you agree with me, Mrs. Pullen?”
“I cannot say that I do, Madame! I have been taught to respect
every religion that is followed with sincerity, whether I agree with its
doctrine or not. Besides, I thought the procession you allude to a
very pretty sight. Some of the children with their fair hair and wreaths
of flowers looked like little angels!”
“O! you’re an ’umbug!” exclaimed the Baroness, “you say that just
to please these Papists. Not that I wouldn’t just as soon be a Papist
as a Protestant, but I ’ate cant. I wouldn’t ’ave Bobby ’ere, brought
up in any religion. Let ’im choose for ’imself when ’e’s a man, I said,
but no cant, no ’umbug! I ’ad a governess for ’im once, a dirty little
sneak, who thought she’d get the better of me, so she made the boy
kneel down each night and say, ‘God bless father and mother and all
kind friends, and God bless my enemies.’ I came on ’em one
evening and I ’ad ’im up on his legs in a moment. I won’t ’ave it,
Bobby, I said, I won’t ’ave you telling lies for anyone, and I made ’im
repeat after me, ‘God bless father and mother and all kind friends,
and d—n my enemies.’ The governess was so angry with me, that
she gave warning, he! he! he! But I ’ad my way, and Bobby ’asn’t
said a prayer since, ’ave you, Bobby?”
“Sometimes, Mamma!” replied the lad in a low voice. Margaret
Pullen’s kind eyes sought his at once with an encouraging smile.
 “Well! you’d better not let me ’ear you, or I’ll give you ‘what for’. I
’ate ’umbug, don’t you, Captain Pullen?”
“Unreservedly, Madame!” replied Ralph in a stifled voice and with
an inflamed countenance. He had been trying to conceal his
amusement for some time past, greatly to the disgust of Miss Leyton,
who would have had him pass by his opposite neighbour’s remarks
in silent contempt, and the effort had been rather trying. As he
spoke, his eyes sought those of Harriet Brandt again, and
discovered the sympathy with his distress, lurking in them, coupled
with a very evident look of admiration for himself. He looked at her
back again—only one look, but it spoke volumes! Captain Pullen had
never given such a glance at his fiancée, nor received one from her!
It is problematical if Elinor Leyton could make a telegraph of her
calm brown eyes—if her soul (if indeed she had in that sense a soul
at all) ever pierced the bounds of its dwelling-place to look through
its windows. As the dessert appeared, Margaret whispered to her
brother-in-law,
“If we do not make our escape now, we may not get rid of her all
the evening,” at which hint he rose from table, and the trio left the
salle à manger together. As Margaret descended again, equipped for
their evening stroll, she perceived Harriet Brandt in the corridor also
ready, and waiting apparently for her. She took her aside at once.
“I cannot ask you to join us in our walk this evening, Miss Brandt,”
she said, “because, as it is the first day of my brother’s arrival, we
shall naturally have many family topics to discuss together!”
For the first time since their acquaintance, she observed a sullen
look creep over Harriet Brandt’s features.
“I am going to walk with the Baron and Baroness, thank you all the
same!” she replied to Margaret’s remark, and turning on her heel,
she re-entered her room. Margaret did not believe her statement, but
she was glad she had had the courage to warn her—she knew it
would have greatly annoyed Elinor if the girl she detested had
accompanied them on that first evening. The walk proved after all to
be a very ordinary one. They paraded up and down the Digue, until
they were tired and then they sat down on green chairs and listened
to the orchestra whilst Ralph smoked his cigarettes. Elinor was
looking her best. She was pleased and mildly excited—her costume
became her—and she was presumably enjoying herself, but as far
as her joy in Captain Pullen went, she might have been walking with
her father or her brother. The conscious looks that had passed
between him and Harriet Brandt were utterly wanting.
They began by talking of home, of Elinor’s family, and the last
news that Margaret had received from Arthur—and then went on to
discuss the visitors to the Hotel. Miss Leyton waxed loud in her
denunciation of the Baroness and her familiar vulgarity—she
deplored the ill fate that had placed them in such close proximity at
the table d’hôte, and hoped that Ralph would not hesitate to change
his seat if the annoyance became too great. She had warned him,
she said, of what he might expect by joining them at Heyst.
“My dear girl,” he replied, “pray don’t distress yourself! In the first
place I know a great deal more about foreign hotels than you do, and
knew exactly what I might expect to encounter, and in the second, I
don’t mind it in the least—in fact, I like it, it amuses me, I think the
Baroness is quite a character, and look forward to cultivating her
acquaintance with the keenest anticipations.”
“O! don’t, Ralph, pray don’t!” exclaimed Miss Leyton, fastidiously,
“the woman is beneath contempt! I should be exceedingly annoyed if
you permitted her to get at all intimate with you.”
“Why not, if it amuses him?” demanded Margaret, laughing, “for
my part, I agree with Ralph, that her very vulgarity makes her most
amusing as a change, and it is not as if we were likely to be thrown
in her way when we return to England!”
“She is a rara avis,” cried Captain Pullen enthusiastically, “she
certainly must know some good people if men like Naggett and
Menzies have been at her house, and yet the way she advertises her
boots and shoes is too delicious! O! dear yes! I cannot consent to cut
the Baroness Gobelli! I am half in love with her already!”
Elinor Leyton made a gesture of disgust.
 “And you—who are considered to be one of the most select and
fastidious men in Town,” she said, “I wonder at you!”
Then he made a bad matter worse, by saying,
“By the way, Margaret, who was that beautiful girl who sat on the
opposite side of the table?”
“The what,” exclaimed Elinor Leyton, ungrammatically, as she
turned round upon the Digue and confronted him.
“He means Miss Brandt!” interposed Margaret, hastily, “many
people think that she is handsome!”
“No one could think otherwise,” responded Ralph. “Is she
Spanish?”
“O! no; her parents were English. She comes from Jamaica!”
“Ah! a drop of Creole blood in her then, I daresay! You never see
such eyes in an English face!”
“What’s the matter with her eyes?” asked Elinor sharply.
“They’re very large and dark, you know, Elinor!” said Mrs. Pullen,
observing the cloud which was settling down upon the girl’s face,
“but it is not everybody who admires dark eyes, or you and I would
come off badly!”
“Well, with all due deference to you, my fair sister-in-law,” replied
Ralph, with the stupidity of a selfish man who never knows when he
is wounding his hearers, “most people give the preference to dark
eyes in women. Anyway Miss Brandt (if that is her name) is a beauty
and no mistake!”
“I can’t say that I admire your taste,” said Elinor, “and I sincerely
hope that Miss Brandt will not force her company upon us whilst you
are here. Margaret and I have suffered more than enough already in
that respect! She is only half educated and knows nothing of the
world, and is altogether a most uninteresting companion. I dislike her
exceedingly!”
“Ah! don’t forget her singing!” cried Margaret, unwittingly.
 “Does she sing?” demanded the Captain.
“Yes! and wonderfully well for an amateur! She plays the
mandoline also. I think Elinor is a little hard on her! Of course she is
very young and unformed, but she has only just come out of a
convent where she has been educated for the last ten years. What
can you expect of a girl who has never been out in Society? I know
that she is very good-natured, and has waited on baby as if she had
been her servant!”
“Don’t you think we have had about enough of Miss Harriet
Brandt?” said Elinor, “I want to hear what Ralph thinks of Heyst, or if
he advises our going on to Ostende. I believe Ostende is much
gayer and brighter than Heyst!”
“But we must wait now till Doctor Phillips joins us,” interposed
Margaret.
“He could come after us, if Ralph preferred Ostende or
Blankenburghe,” said Elinor eagerly.
“My dear ladies,” exclaimed Captain Pullen, “allow me to form an
opinion of Heyst first, and then we will talk about other places. This
seems pleasant enough in all conscience to me now!”
“O! you two are bound to think any place pleasant,” laughed
Margaret, “but I think I must go in to my baby! I do not feel easy to be
away from her too long, now that she is ailing. But there is no need
for you to come in, Elinor! It is only just nine o’clock!”
“I would rather accompany you,” replied Miss Leyton, primly.
“No! no! Elinor, stay with me! If you are tired we can sit in the
balcony. I have seen nothing of you yet!” remonstrated her lover.
She consented to sit in the balcony with him for a few minutes, but
she would not permit his chair to be placed too close to hers.
“The waiters pass backward and forward,” she said, “and what
would they think?”
“The deuce take what they think,” replied Captain Pullen, “I haven’t
seen you for two months, and you keep me at arms’ length as if I
should poison you! What do you suppose a man is made of?”
“My dear Ralph, you know it is nothing of the kind, but it is quite
impossible that we can sit side by side like a pair of turtle doves in a
public Hotel like this!”
“Let us go up to your room then?”
“To my bedroom?” she ejaculated with horror.
“To Margaret’s room then! she won’t be so prudish, I’m sure!
Anywhere where I can speak to you alone!”
“The nurse will be in Margaret’s room, with little Ethel!”
“Hang it all, then, come for another walk! Let us go away from the
town, out on those sand hills. I’m sure no one will see us there!”
“Dear Ralph, you must be reasonable! If I were seen walking
about Heyst alone with you at night, it would be all over the town to-
morrow.”
“Let it be! Where’s the harm?”
“But I have kept our engagement most scrupulously secret! No
one knows anything, but that you are Margaret’s brother-in-law! You
don’t know how they gossip and chatter in a place like this. I could
never consent to appear at the public table d’hôte again, if I thought
that all those vulgarians had been discussing my most private
affairs!”
“O! well! just as you choose!” replied Ralph Pullen discontentedly,
“but I suppose you will not object to my taking another turn along the
Digue before I go to bed! Here, garçon, bring me a chasse! Good-
night, then, if you will not stay!”
“It is not that I will not—it is that I cannot, Ralph!” said Miss Leyton,
as she gave him her hand. “Good-night! I hope you will find your
room comfortable, and if it is fine to-morrow, we will have a nice walk
in whichever direction you prefer!”
“And much good that will be!” grumbled the young man, as he
lighted his cigarette and strolled out again upon the Digue.