From office to living room: linking AI awareness and career sustainability from a work–family boundary perspective

Purpose Drawing upon work–family boundary theory and the significance of employees career sustainability amid widespread artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, this study examines the impact of AI awareness on two indicators of career sustainability (i.e. well-being and productivity) via work–family conflict and the moderating role of work–family segmentation preference in this relationship. Design/methodology/approach We collected data from 421 subordinate-supervisor dyads across multiple industries using a two…

By the Truvace deskOctober 15, 20262 min read1 sourcePeer-reviewedTRV-2026-1495· cite & verify

From office to living room: linking AI awareness and career sustainability from a work–family boundary perspective — "Day 30 - Working late makes me.." by Phil and Pam is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/.

In brief

Researchers surveyed 421 employee-supervisor pairs across several industries in two waves and tested their model with structural equation modeling. Employees who were more aware of AI reported more conflict between work and family roles. That conflict was in turn tied to lower self-reported well-being and lower productivity as rated by supervisors.

The study suggests that AI's effects on workers reach beyond the office into family life, so unmanaged AI-related stress may carry social costs. Employees who prefer to keep work and family separate showed a weaker effect. The abstract does not report effect sizes, and the findings rest on one survey design, so the long-term picture remains open.

Main points

The sample was 421 subordinate-supervisor dyads from multiple industries, surveyed in two waves.
AI awareness had a negative indirect effect on well-being and productivity through work-family conflict.
Well-being was rated by subordinates and productivity by supervisors.
Preference for segmenting work from family weakened the link between AI awareness and conflict.
Suggested organizational responses include AI literacy training, clear job design, and family-supportive policies.

The problem

Among 421 supervisor-subordinate pairs, greater AI awareness predicted lower career sustainability, meaning worse well-being and supervisor-rated productivity, by increasing work-family conflict.

The rundown

The study draws on work-family boundary theory and treats career sustainability as two indicators: employee well-being and productivity. It positions AI awareness as a new antecedent of career sustainability in workplaces where people and AI systems work together.

Segmentation preference acted as a boundary condition. It weakened the positive relationship between AI awareness and work-family conflict and reduced the indirect negative effect on both outcomes.

The authors recommend balanced human-AI collaboration through clear job design, AI literacy training, and supportive feedback systems. They also suggest encouraging boundary management, adopting family-supportive policies, and building boundary skills into recruitment and development.