A qualitative investigation of information technology (it) managers' emotion regulation: Insights into the impact of organisational culture and work-family spillover

Emotion regulation at work is important for Information Technology (IT) professionals as it impacts their wellbeing and contributes to a more harmonious and productive workplace. However, due to the emphasis on the need for technical skills over soft skills for IT professionals, there is little scholarly literature that explores emotion regulation in this group, specifically in the non-Western context.I explored how do managers in the Sri Lankan IT industry regulate their emotions at work.Ten IT organisations in Sri Lanka (SL), five of which were headquartered locally, three in the United States (US), and two in the Netherlands (NL), agreed to participate in my research. The headquarters in the US and NL were also involved. Due to COVID-19- related travel restrictions, I collected data online. There were five phases to collect data on emotion regulation strategies and motives, organisational culture and work–family spillover. In Phase 1, I interviewed general managers in SL to understand the relationship between organisational culture and IT managers' emotion regulation. In Phases 2, 3, and 4, I used interviews, audio diaries and follow-up interviews to collect data on emotion regulation strategies and motives and work–family spillover from IT managers in SL. In Phase 5, I interviewed general managers in the US and NL headquarters of participating firms to investigate the culture of their Sri Lankan branches and its impact on IT managers' emotion regulation. Data was analysed using deductive thematic analysis, and 10 overarching themes with sub-themes were identified.The increase in work-from-home (WFH) arrangements owing to the COVID-19 pandemic opened an opportunity to compare emotion regulation experiences in onsite and remote work.My findings suggested no significant differences in emotion regulation strategies, motives and organisational culture in onsite or WFH contexts. However, during WFH, due to the lack of physical boundaries between work and family, the impact of IT managers' family life in their workplace emotion regulation became more heightened. Ten organisations' individualist or collectivist, low power distance, high uncertainty avoidance, and masculine values influenced IT managers' emotion regulation. The impact of IT managers' work–family spillover on their emotion regulation resulted in work–family enrichment or conflict. My results contribute to our understanding of occupation- and culture-specific aspects of emotion regulation.