Blurring of work/life boundaries causes stress in remote workers

Even if employees are allowed to have “flexible hours” when working at home, the perception of being perpetually “on-call” can place a great strain on both them and their families, according to the study, “Killing me softly-electronic communications monitoring and employee and significant-other well-being,” by a team of researchers led by William Becker, a Virginia Tech associate professor of management.

“The competing demands of work and non-work lives present a dilemma for employees, which triggers feelings of anxiety and endangers work and personal lives,” Becker says.

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That anxiety can be exacerbated during the times when they’re not working — but still checking their emails to see if their employer at the drop of a hat will demand something, the research found.

“The insidious impact of ‘always on’ organizational culture is often unaccounted for or disguised as a benefit — increased convenience, for example, or higher autonomy and control over work-life boundaries,” Becker says. “Our research exposes the reality: ‘flexible work boundaries’ often turn into ‘work without boundaries,’ compromising an employee’s and their family’s health and well-being.”

To lessen worker anxiety, employers should lower their expectations for workers to monitor electronic communication outside of work, or at least establish boundaries on when electronic communication is expected – and when workers can truly turn off their devices and laptops, he says.

Workers should also try to lower their anxiety levels as much as they can by practicing mindfulness during family interactions, which can help reduce conflict and improve relationship satisfaction, Becker says.

Becker co-authored the study with Liuba Y. Belkin, of Lehigh University; Samantha A. Conroy, of Colorado State University; and Sarah Tuskey, a Virginia Tech Ph.D. student in executive business research.

“Workplace cultures that expect employees to be virtually accessible 24/7 do so at great risk,” HRDive writes. “Anxiety causes burnout and can lead to serious health problems for employees. Health problems lower productivity over time, resulting in distraction on the job and absenteeism.”

Employers then have a “formidable task” trying to motivate “burned out, overworked and ill workers” — not to mention expose themselves to higher workplace healthcare costs, according to HRDive.

“Employers that don’t give their workers any right to disconnect from the office may want to seriously consider the consequences of such a policy — and may need to look into an overhaul in their cultures to keep workers from feeling as though their jobs are jeopardized if they’re not accessible 24/7,” HRDive writes.