ABSTRACT
Previous research has consistently identified a negative association between the experience of partner phubbing and individuals’ life satisfaction. However, limited attention has been given to the contextual factors that may intensify or mitigate these impacts. Grounded in relative deprivation theory, this study examines how a partner’s family performance moderates the effects of partner phubbing on focal employees’ life satisfaction and proactive behavior at work. We hypothesize that personal relative deprivation mediates the impacts of partner phubbing on the deterioration of life satisfaction and proactive behavior at work. Furthermore, these negative effects are expected to be buffered when partners exhibit high levels of family performance. We tested our model using an experience sampling method with a daily diary design, collecting 728 within-person data points from 84 employees. Results from hierarchical linear modeling revealed that partner phubbing indirectly impaired focal employees’ life satisfaction and proactive behavior at work through relative deprivation. This negative indirect effect was less pronounced when partners’ family performance was high compared to when it was low. These findings contribute to the literature by extending relative deprivation theory to the family–work interface and empirically demonstrating how positive family dynamics can mitigate the cross-domain detriments of digital incivility.