Developing a MODI Framework for Motivational Organizational Disconnection (MODI) Policies

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are omnipresent in the world of work. While they lead to many benefits, they also challenge employee well-being and performance due to increased workload and work-life imbalance. To manage ICT-related stress effectively, academics and practitioners alike have been advocating for employee after-work disconnection or digital detox policies (e.g., switching of email servers after working hours). However, our knowledge on the effectiveness of such organizational policies is lacking. Within this chapter, we build on the literature on stress and well-being implications of ICTs and rely on self-determination theory to highlight challenges associated with organizationally induced disconnecting and propose a finer grained and comprehensive approach to organizational disconnection policies. Specifically, we develop the MODI framework (i.e., short for Motivational Organization Disconnection framework) highlighting that only informed, involving, interconnecting, and integrated policies may fulfill the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, and lead to employee well-being and performance. As such, this framework can help organizations reap the benefits of disconnecting while avoiding negative implications for employees, teams, and the organization.