E-Resistance: making active choices of technology management in an agile-working age

The blurring lines between work and non-work activities have increased in line with the advancement of New Communication Technology (NCT). Agile working, enabled by these NCTs, blur those boundaries even further. As a consequence, workers are impelled to make active choices to resist and manage NCTs if they wish to strengthen the boundaries between work and non-work. This notion of resistance to NCT’s is evidenced in the realms of social media, smartphones, and generic use, but less so in the world of work-based NCTs. Lifespan Theories and Conservation of Resources Theory lend a strong theoretical framework in understanding the behaviours, motivations, and impact of E-Resistance - active choices of avoidance or resistance to control NCT use to balance one’s resources to meet work and personal goals.