<![CDATA[This study examines the impact of digital communication disruptions outside working hours on the personal lives of Generation Z workers in North Jakarta. Continuous connectivity through instant messaging applications has often been regarded as a form of flexibility. In reality, however, it can become an invisible mechanism of control that encroaches upon employees’ rest time. A qualitative approach using narrative inquiry was employed to explore the experiences of eleven workers from diverse industry backgrounds. Data were collected through in-depth questioning and subsequently analyzed using thematic mapping. The findings reveal that work-related messages received during personal time trigger cognitive conflict, manifested in excessive anxiety and psychological exhaustion. To preserve their private space, these young Generation Z employees employ various self-protection strategies, ranging from separating mobile devices to deliberately delaying their responses to messages. The study also demonstrates that pressure to respond promptly to work-related instructions disrupts concentration on primary tasks and impairs their cognitive capacity on the following day. The findings underscore the need for companies to move away from evaluating performance based solely on the speed of responding to messages outside working hours and instead implement policies that protect employees’ autonomy over their rest time, thereby sustaining essential productivity.]]>
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