Mei-I Cheng

Digital messaging applications structure everyday work in China, with WeChat often used via employees’ personal accounts, organisational communication becomes merged with private life. This study uses interpretative phenomenological analysis to examine how workplace cyberbullying (WCB) is experienced and understood in routine WeChat-mediated work. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with early-career, non-managerial Chinese women (aged 26–32) who had experienced WCB. The analysis identified five themes showing that WCB was typically embedded in daily digital work practices rather than confined to isolated hostile incidents. Participants reported reputational attacks, public undermining, and exclusion in group chats alongside gendered degradation, such as sexualised rumours about promotion, as well as client‑initiated online sexual harassment. They also recounted culturally normalised hierarchical cyber-control through monitoring of responsiveness, demands for deference in group spaces, and expectations of late-night and weekend compliance. Some accounts described paternalistic “dad-flavour” messaging that framed obedience as care or guidance. Work demands routinely crossed into participants’ personal spheres through after-hours contact and corporate visibility requirements via personal accounts. Many participants avoided formal reporting, citing uncertainty about what counts as WCB, low confidence in organisational action, and the risks of challenging authority. Coping relied on venting, emotional detachment, avoidance, and technical workarounds, alongside a clear desire for organisational protection. These findings highlight the need for stronger digital communication governance, including clear policies on personal-account use for work, after-hours contact, mandatory corporate visibility practices, and escalation routes for client-initiated sexual harassment.

Research often emphasises dysfunctional Social Networking Site (SNS) usage. In contrast, the current research examined a more positive element of human functioning, specifically how motivations to use SNSs may be associated with meaning in life, which can help give purpose and direction to people’s lives. A sample of 384 undergraduate students (aged 18 to 50; M = 20.95; SD = 4.95; 81.5% females) completed questionnaire-based measures of motivations to use SNSs, self-reported time spent on SNSs, and meaning in life (coherence, purpose, and mattering). Multiple regressions showed that models for coherence, purpose, and mattering explained 5.8–8.8% of the variance (R² = 0.058–0.088). Self-expression was positively associated with coherence (β = 0.128), purpose (β = 0.16), and mattering (β = 0.137). Following/monitoring others predicted higher coherence (β = 0.158), and using SNSs to find information predicted higher purpose (β = 0.12). Academic purposes were positively related to mattering (β = 0.12). By contrast, using SNSs for new friendships predicted lower coherence (β = −0.197) and mattering (β = −0.154), entertainment predicted lower coherence (β = −0.178), and greater time on SNSs predicted lower purpose (β = −0.186). Overall, different motivations for using SNSs are associated with different facets of meaning in life.

This qualitative study aimed to explore the work–family conflict phenomenon in China, to extend our understanding of such a phenomenon experienced under a different cultural background outside of the West, and to help suggest the Chinese culturally specific variables (e.g., filial piety) related to the work–family conflict in China for future research. A purposive sample of 16 Chinese employees was interviewed. Using Creswell’s phenomenological method, six themes and 17 sub-themes emerged through 297 significant statements. The participants described the work–family conflict as only a life experience or no more than a minor problem in life that has influenced their coping strategy (e.g., avoidance coping). It appeared that Chinese culture places both positive and negative effects that simultaneously ease and exacerbate work–family conflict (e.g., a greater level of family support came with more family obligation). After comparing the results with the previous Western findings, differences in the experience of work–family conflict were identified. Relevant factors related to the experience of work–family conflict were suggested, providing directions for future work–family conflict studies.

This qualitative study aimed to explore the work-family conflict phenomenon in China, to extend our understanding of such a phenomenon experienced under a different cultural background outside of the West, and to help suggest the Chinese culturally specific variables related to the work-family conflict in China for future research. A purposive sample of 16 Chinese employees was interviewed. Using Creswell’s (2013) Phenomenological method, four themes and 17 sub-themes emerged through 269 significant statements. The participants described the work-family conflict as only a life experience or no more than a minor problem in life that has influenced their coping strategy (e.g., avoidance coping). It appeared that Chinese culture is akin to a double-edged sword that simultaneously eases and exacerbates work-family conflict (e.g., a greater level of family support came with more family obligation). After comparing the results with the previous Western findings, differences in the experience of work-family conflict were identified. Relevant factors related to the experience of work-family conflict were suggested, providing directions for future work-family conflict studies.