Recent research indicates that organizations with more lenient policies on phone use help their employees maintain a better work-life balance.
A study suggests that personal use of smartphones in the workplace can help employees reduce stress and achieve a better work-life balance.
These were the findings of new research from the University of Galloway and the University of Melbourne, conducted at the European branch of an unnamed global pharmaceutical company.
The company has made a change in its phone policy, removing the ban on personal phones and allowing them to be used for non-office purposes.
The study highlighted the potential benefits of less mobile phone use in the workplace, while finding no clear impact on employee performance.
The research was led by Professor Eoin Whelan of the University of Galloway’s JE Cairns School of Business and Economics.
In fact, pharma companies banned personal use of phones in the 1990s for health and safety reasons.
There were concerns about employee distraction while working among hazardous chemicals.
The staff expressed dissatisfaction over the ban, claiming that it made them feel disconnected.
Senior management also felt that the restriction was contributing to the perception of the branch as being technophobic and was hindering competition against other branches of the company.
Before the study, only senior management was allowed to bring their personal mobile phones to work.
Over the course of a year, the study tracked about 40 employees who took advantage of the new lenient policy and used their personal smartphones while at work.
The study examined the same number of staff members who left their phones outside while maintaining self-imposed restraints when entering the work premises.
Information was obtained through qualitative interviews.
Main results of the experiment
Despite concerns about smartphone distraction and distraction, task performance did not decrease when smartphone use was banned.
Work-life conflict – The perceived disconnect between work demands and personal life was significantly reduced compared to workers who did not have access to their phones.
Employees with access to a phone reported that they could help with family issues during the day, which helped reduce stress on their co-workers.
Personal contact throughout the day also meant that employees weren’t bothered when they turned on their phones after work.
While much previous research in this area has focused on work-related relationships outside the workplace.
Studies have done the opposite by focusing on personal communication within the workplace.
The universities involved in this research believe that these findings are important and will help to understand the interplay between technology and work-life balance, while providing practical solutions for organizations aiming to promote healthier and more balanced work environments. Will also provide insight.
Professor Whelan, who led the research, said: ‘Rather than banning smartphones in the workplace, our experience with monitoring the introduction of smartphones in this company suggests that a more effective strategy would be to Create an office environment where company expectations about smartphone behavior are known, for example ensuring that they are not used in meetings or in the canteen. It should also be monitored by the employees themselves.
Managers should be aware of the unintended consequences of banning smartphones.
“Banning phones in the workplace can increase work-life conflict, which in turn has significant effects on job performance, job satisfaction, absenteeism, as well as general well-being.”
The study also cited other research conducted on personal smartphone use in the workplace.
Some reports indicate that employees spend an average of 56 minutes during work hours using their smartphones for other tasks, checking their devices an average of 150 times a day.