Navigating Work-Life Communication Boundaries on Super Apps

Using interviews as a research method, this study explores workplace communication practices among users of super apps in China, focusing on how these practices affect the management of work-life communication boundaries. Given the prevalent use of super apps in China, these platforms have embedded in people’s daily lives deeply, subtly altering users' communication habits. Using WeChat as an example, this study discusses that the users’ digital workplace communication decisions are often made based on their intuitive understanding of rhetorical situation. This research confirms previous findings that WeChat reinforces the workplace power hierarchy and exacerbates the work-life conflict through the in-depth interviews. Additionally, this paper details tactics employed by users to navigate the blurred boundaries between work and personal life introduced by super apps. These tactics include maintaining separate WeChat accounts for personal and professional use, intentionally delaying responses, muting work-related messages after hours, and carefully managing their social postings. The findings underscore the complex dynamics at play in digital communication environments and suggest avenues for further research into managing digital communication boundaries.