Media multitasking, ego depletion, and employee depression: Self-control as a moderator

• Wen-Wen Cui

  CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Mental Health Promotion Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

• Ting Tao

  CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Mental Health Promotion Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

• Chun-Lei Fan

  CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Mental Health Promotion Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

• Li-Gang Wang

  CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Mental Health Promotion Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

• Wen-Bin Gao

  CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Mental Health Promotion Research Center, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Employees frequently have to use various media to complete multiple tasks at work, and depression has become a common problem influencing their mental health and work efficiency. We conducted a survey to investigate the relationship between the media multitasking and depression of 490 employees of a state-owned enterprise in China. The results showed that media multitasking was positively correlated with employee depression. Moreover, ego depletion significantly mediated the relationship between media multitasking and depression, and self-control moderated the relationship between ego depletion and depression. Greater self-control may help buffer the effect of ego depletion on depression. These results have theoretical and practical implications for improving employees’ mental health during China’s enterprise transformation process.

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