It found that the digital revolution has been almost entirely negative for the health and happiness of employees. The only clear advantage identified was a greater ability to attend immovable family events such as a school sports day.
These one-off events were more than outweighed by reduced time spent with the family. Researchers at the University of Surrey examined 65 big studies on the subject, covering the experiences of about 50,000 employees. They found that handing out work phones and other gadgets to staff generally came with an expectation that employees were available for work at all times.
Few companies have clear policies about the limits of contacting staff in their free time, making it a virtual free-for-all.
Svenja Schlachter, a researcher at the University of Surrey, said that many more companies needed to address the issue — or face the consequences of havcing a burnt-out workforce.
“In the absence of a policy written down in black and white, employees tended to take guidance from their manager or their colleagues. If managers sent emails late at night, staff felt they were required to answer them,” she said.
“Employees generally showed great enthusiasm at first when they received phones from work but very quickly they felt an expectation was established that meant they had to be always available.”
Overall smartphone technology is thought to have led to white-collar employees working an average of a full working day extra each week, and managers up to two days a week more.
Family life emerged as the greatest casualty of digital technology, with parents often being distracted or breaking off during the evening, at weekends and on holiday to deal with work emails and calls.
