The Impact of Smartphones on Work-Life Balance

Abstract

Smartphones have become increasingly popular for personal and work use. Due to the technological capabilities of smartphones, they can do much of what a computer can. With this increased ability people have the ability to do work on a smartphone, anywhere and at anytime. This study examined whether using smartphones for work impacted employees' work-life balance, job satisfaction, life satisfaction and stress. In addition, the consequences of an organization requiring employees to work on their smartphones on a regular basis were examined. Participants for the online survey were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Results showed a significant negative relationship between smartphone intrusion and work-life balance. In addition there were significant relationships between smartphone intrusion and stress levels. This means that the more people felt that using their smartphone was intrusive on their personal life the more stressed they were. Lastly work life balance was significantly related to stress, life satisfaction, and job satisfaction. Implications of this study's results for the employee and employer are discussed.