smartphone-culture

The Age of the Smartphone

Glued to your smartphone? You’re not alone. With the prevalence of mobile-gadgetry long reaching saturation, Coventry University’s Dr. Christine Grant’s research has been taking a look at the effect of smartphone-use on employees. Has the traditional work-life balance dramatically changed?

Whilst e-working has been linked to positive productivity gains, the impact of e-working on employees’ well-being and work-life balance has not been measured in depth, in particular some of the more negative aspects. For example, employees may be struggling to ‘switch off’ from work that is constantly available, which in turn may impact their well being.

Putting a phone, tablet or other technology down to take a break is now becoming problematic and Dr Christine Grant’s (Occupational Psychologist, Psychology & Behavioural Sciences Department) research has been exploring some of these related issues through her research on remote workers. This work formed part of her PhD research and involved interviews with exemplar e-workers and a wide-scale survey including over 11 different organisations and across three sectors. She has also developed a series of coping strategies and the next phase of her research will evaluate these further.

Christine has also developed a new assessment tool that measures the impact of e-working across eight dimensions including: work-life integration, e-working effectiveness, management style and trust. The e-work life tool helps organisations to consider what actions and strategies can be employed to help their remote workers to manage their e-working and improve their skills and behaviours.

Smartphones and ‘always-on’ culture – featured on the BBC

Dr. Christine Grant on Twitter

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Coventry University