Smart phones should help employees to better manage their work responsibilities by offering easy access to e-mail and the Internet while they stay out of office. Many users are, however, becoming so dependent on their smart phones that they must constantly check their email and social networks, which increases their stress. Some users even experience hallucinations when they believe that a new message vibrates their phone in their pocket while it is not true. These are findings of a research announced at the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology Conference.
The research by Richard Balding, a graduate of Occupational psychology from the University of Worcester, involved questionnaires and psychometric testing on a group of more than 100 volunteers from among students and workers. It turned out that the use of smart phones was associated with increased stress and even "phantom" vibrations in the worst cases. People are, however, acquiring smart phones to facilitate their work.
Richard Balding appeals to employers to carefully consider providing smart phones to their employees because the ownership of a smart phone increases pressure on employees to receive messages at any time during the day. This creates a vicious circle of stress.
"Organisations will not flourish if their employees are stressed," Balding was quoted in The Daily Telegraph, "cut the number of work emails sent out of hours, and reduce people’s temptation to check their devices.”
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