Feedforward: Journal of Human Resource
Vol. 6 No. 2: September 2026

Mobile Device Usage, Employer Expectations, And Work-Life Conflict in an Indonesian NGO

Yedija C William Margono (University of Pelita Harapan)
Yohana F. Cahya Palupi Meilani (Universitas Pelita Harapan)



Article Info

Publish Date
28 Sep 2026

Abstract

This study examines how mobile device usage relates to productivity, employer expectations and work-life conflict among employees of an international non-governmental organization (NGO X) in South Jakarta, Indonesia. Drawing on work/family border theory and the job demands–resources model, it disaggregates usage into work-related usage at work, work-related usage at home, and personal usage at work, and positions productivity and employer expectations as competing mediators. A cross-sectional census of all 160 full-time employees was conducted between March and May 2024 and analysed with PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4. Of eleven hypothesised paths, four were supported. Work-related usage at home was positively associated with both productivity and employer expectations; personal usage at work was negatively associated with employer expectations; and employer expectations were very strongly associated with work-life conflict, the model accounting for 80.7% of its variance. Work-related usage at work was associated with neither mediator, job satisfaction was not associated with productivity, and productivity was not associated with employer expectations. Three paths were significant in the direction opposite to that hypothesised: personal usage at work related positively to productivity, flexibility in work structure related negatively to employer expectations, and work-related usage at home related weakly negatively to work-life conflict. Formal mediation testing showed that every significant indirect path ran through employer expectations and none through productivity. Because the design is cross-sectional, these results identify an associational structure rather than a causal one.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

FF

Publisher

Subject

Social Sciences

Description

Feedforward: Journal of Human Resource aims to foster leading scientific research on human resource management. It provides a central and independent forum for the critical evaluation and dissemination of research and to publish the highest quality research with evaluation, evidence and conclusions ...