We all know that we should take our downtime seriously. Evenings and weekends should be for relaxing, not answered unread emails or catching up on important projects.
Despite that fact sometimes the temptation to get a head start on Monday morning can be just a little too much. But before you download Slack to your personal mobile phone you may want to think twice, especially after reading the results of a recent study.
Scientists from the University of Texas in the US have found that using a mobile device at home for work purposes has negative implications for the employee’s work life. It also found that it can negatively affect their spouse too!
For the study which was published in the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 344 married couples were surveyed. All of the participants worked fulltime and used mobile devices or tablets at home for work purposes.

The couple’s survey results showed that the use of a mobile device for work purposes during family time resulted in lower job satisfaction and lower job performance.
Wayne Crawford, assistant professor at the University of Texas stated that ”It is really no surprise that conflict was created when a spouse is using a mobile device at home…They are sometimes engaging in work activities during family time. What that ultimately leads to, though, is trouble at work for both spouses.”
So, if you want to be happy at work, switch off when you go home this evening.