The effect of supervisors making after-hours work requests on employees’ job stress: the cross-level contextual effect of social support

Purpose The rise of communication software has changed our work style. The objectives of this study are: (1) to explore the effect of supervisors making after-hours work requests using communication software (SWRUCS) on employees’ job stress, quality of life and (2) to examine the moderating effect of personality traits and the cross-level contextual effect of social support. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was conducted to obtain information from 357 employees. Findings The results suggested that SWRUCS exacerbated job stress, which negatively impacted on quality of life and well-being. Moreover, different personality traits can either increase or decrease the positive or negative effect of SWRUCS on job stress. This study also revealed that social support can reduce employees’ job stress in a cross-level fashion. Furthermore, social support, especially organizational and supervisory support, can decrease the negative effect of job stress on employees’ quality of life and well-being. Originality/value Theoretically, this study has broadened the research scope of the organizational application of communication software, and practically, this study has demonstrated the reason why organizations should provide social support and select employees with suitable personality traits.