Smartphones were a way to increase productivity while away from the office, but a new study says that instead they cause more stress, leading people to compulsively check the phone and even make a person think he or she feels the smartphone buzzing when it isn't.
The study of 100 volunteers was led by the University of Worcestor and was presented to the British Psychological Society’s Division of Occupational Psychology Conference Thursday, according to The Telegraph (U.K.) Results suggested that people's use of smartphones was linked to stress, not necessarily their line of work. Instead, stress was linked directly to the number of times a person checked his or her iPhone of Android phone.
People with the highest levels of stress repeatedly checked smartphones and experiences "phantom" vibrations when no message was received. The study showed that most people were caught in a vicious circle --- smartphone-checking caused stress, but the more stressed they became, the more they compulsively needed to check their phones.
Richard Balding of the University of Worcester told the Telegraph, "Organisations will not flourish if their employees are stressed, irrespective of the source of stress, so it is in their interest to encourage their employees to switch their phones off; cut the number of work emails sent out of hours, and reduce people’s temptation to check their devices.”
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That sounds like a great idea, but somehow we think that won't stop the after hours emails or expectations that workers will continue to work once they go home. Our economy has made many so fearful of losing a job that he or she will continue to go that extra mile even if that road causes stress, self-loathing and hallucinations.
