More happiness and productivity at work – through less smartphone

People who spend an hour less on their smartphones each day feel better and are more motivated to work. This also increases productivity at work, according to a recent study.

According to statistics, we spend an average of three hours a day looking at our smartphone screens. If you reduce this time by an hour per day, you can not only do something good for your mental health, but also help to make your work more motivated and satisfied. At least that is the result of a recent study by the Ruhr University Bochum.

The findings are particularly interesting for employers who place great value on employee satisfaction and motivation – and sometimes spend a lot of money on it. Julia Brailovskaia, study director and private lecturer at the German Center for Mental Health and the Research and Treatment Center for Mental Health at the Ruhr University Bochum, explained: “These factors are important for the productivity of a company.”

More productivity at work – through less smartphone

According to the researchers, the results show a simple and low-threshold way to contribute to better mental health and work-life balance. For their study, they divided 278 subjects who worked in various industries into four groups of roughly equal size.

The so-called smartphone group reduced their private use of their devices by one hour per day for one week. Meanwhile, the sports group increased their physical activity by 30 minutes per day. The combination group followed both instructions, while the control group did not change their usual behavior.

After two weeks, all participants filled out several questionnaires online. The primary focus was on their well-being – both in terms of their work and mental health.

Fewer smartphones: few

The result: According to the study, the researchers found that job satisfaction and motivation, work-life balance and mental health had improved significantly in the smartphone and combination groups. The feeling of work overload and symptoms of problematic smartphone use had also decreased significantly.

All measures led to a reduction in depressive symptoms. The researchers were also able to measure an increased feeling of control. Julia Brailovskaia commented:

A conscious and controlled reduction in non-work-related smartphone usage time, combined with more physical activity, could improve job satisfaction and mental health of employees.

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