New research says cutting smartphone use by 1 hour a day could increase job satisfaction
Even if you love your job, you may still feel unfulfilled and/or unmotivated at times. But there’s a simple solution, according to new research from Germany.
Cutting screen time by just one hour a day can not only boost your motivation at work, but also your healthAccording to researchers at German Mental Health Center and Center for Mental Health Research and Treatment at Ruhr University BochumThe findings were published last week in the journal Acta Psychologica.
Some employers invest a lot in their employees. job satisfaction and motivation, two important factors for company productivity, lead researcher Julia Brailovskaia, PhDsay in one News releaseHer team’s findings, she says, offer employers a low-threshold way to improve those factors while also boosting employee mental health And work-life balance.
The randomised controlled trial involved nearly 300 people working in different industries and workplaces across Germany. They were divided into four groups and changed their behaviour accordingly for one week:
- Smartphone Group: Reduce daily smartphone usage by one hour
- Physical activity group: Increase daily physical activity by 30 minutes
- Combined group: Reduce daily smartphone use by one hour and increase daily physical activity by 30 minutes
- Control group: No change in behavior
More exercise + less screen time = better health
Researchers assessed the participants’ health before, immediately after, and two weeks after they either changed their behavior or did not change it. Employees in the smartphone group and the combination group reported significant improvements in mental healthwork-life balance, job satisfaction, and motivation. In addition, they indicated feelings of reduced work load and symptoms of problematic smartphone use.
All participants who were asked to change their behavior in some way saw a reduction in symptoms of depression and enhanced control.
“Consciously and controlled reductions in non-work-related screen time, combined with more physical activity, can improve employee job satisfaction and mental health,” says Brailovskaia.
One of the major limitations of the study is that the participants were all white and relatively young; no group had an average age of more than 28. The authors note that future research is needed to see whether these findings hold true in a more representative sample of the international workforce. Since this study focused on non-work-related smartphone use, they say further research is needed to explore how work-related screen time impacts mental health.
If you’re looking to cut down on your screen time but don’t know how, try these Alex Turvy, MEda researcher in Tulane University’s City + Culture + Community Program learn social media and internet culturecalled the “integrate rather than separate” strategy. You can combine digital interaction with physical activity, such as walking while listening to an audiobook.
“Recognizing that the dichotomy between screen time and non-screen time is becoming increasingly blurred,” Turvy said before Luck“Integrating meaningful screen-free activities into your daily routine rather than completely separating the two can be helpful.”
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