MARTIN ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN SOCIAL SCIENCE COMPUTER REVIEW

“Are Employees Happier when Staying Connected with their Companies Outside Working Hours?” analyses how using digital technologies to stay connected to work impacts employees’ well-being. Along with co-authors Thierry Pénard and Nicolas Poussing, Ludivine Martin examines the impact of two forms of connectedness: online communication through emails and smartphones, and remote access to companies’ networks, i.e. to files, management systems and software (information technologies). Researchers used a large survey on the working conditions and work quality of 14,685 employees in Luxembourg and found that:

• Being contacted regularly outside office hours has a negative impact on life satisfaction. Emailing or professional smartphone use is pervasive and can blur the boundary between work and private life, with detrimental effects on job and life satisfaction.
• Remote access to the company’s network is positively related to the improvement of life satisfaction and is associated with both lower job-related stress and better health. This kind of usage of digital tools provides more flexibility to work anywhere, and a better balance between professional and personal life.

Martin L, Pénard T, Poussing N. “Are Employees Happier when Staying Connected with their Companies Outside Working Hours?” Social Science Computer Review. May 2022.

The article can be downloaded here: https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/FEGAGSUNJYBCYPPC78NF/full