Provide the citation and attach a pdf of the article
Son, J. S., & Chen, C. (2018). Does using a smartphone for work purposes “ruin” your leisure? Examining the role of smartphone use in work–leisure conflict and life satisfaction. Journal of Leisure Research, 49(3-5), 236-257. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.fhsu.edu:2048/10.1080/00222216.2018.1534074
PDF of the article: Does using a smartphone for work purposes “ruin” your leisure? Examining the role of smartphone use in work-leisure conflict and life satisfaction
What is the abstract of the article?
This study examined a model centered on the concept of work-leisure conflict that included three antecedents (daily smartphone use, work overload due to smartphone use, and segmentation culture) and two consequences (work stress and life satisfaction). In all, 462 workers aged 19–55 years completed the survey instruments. Of 13 hypotheses, 10 were supported in the bivariate analyses, and the final structural model of significant factors demonstrated a good fit. Smartphone-based work overload (þ) and segmentation culture (-) were associated with time- (T-WIL) and strain-based (S-WIL) work interference with leisure. These, in turn, were directly (S-WIL) and indirectly (T-WIL and S-WIL) associated with lower levels of life satisfaction. This study provides a model of smartphone use and its relationships to work–leisure conflict and related factors. These findings have implications for policy and practice related to work-based smartphone usage and highlight the possible detrimental and positive effects of technology on leisure.
Was the study experimental or non-experimental?
It is a non-experimental study. It was a survey, and they did not use control or manipulation.
Was the research qualitative or quantitative?
The research was quantitative because it involved a sample size of several hundred, and they used a Likert scale.
What was the population studied?
The population studied was Taiwanese who worked full-time and who used a smartphone for work purposes. The population study was delimited to people who were in an online research panel company’s database, which had over 300,000 members.
What sample was used for this study?
The sample used in this study was the people who met the criteria above, aged between 18-54 and responded back to the survey sent out by email. The sample size ended up being 462 Taiwanese.
What was the method of measurement?
The study used quantitative measures that included questions regarding daily smartphone use, work overload, segmentation culture, time-based work interference with leisure, strain-based work interference with leisure, life satisfaction, and work stress. They all used the Likert scale, but with different point scales, 5,7 and 10. The study used the ordinal scale because it used discrete values.
What was the method of analysis?
They analyzed the data using descriptive and inferential statistics. They also analyzed the data using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r), analyses of variance (ANOVA), Chi-Square test (X2), t-tests, regression and residuals.
What was the conclusion of the study?
They concluded the study by saying that using a smartphone for work purposes “exacerbates” work-leisure struggles and that the more conflict a person has, the more potential there is for leisure ruining. They also said that this study primarily provides preliminary support for a model of how segmentation culture, work-related smartphone use, time-base work interference, and strain-base work interference among leisure relate to the work stress and life satisfaction of a worker.
Why is this study useful to you? Explain in detail.
The study was meaningful to me because I know of many people lately who have been given a smartphone for work purposes, and I was wondering if it could impact my leisure time and life satisfaction. I live in the U.S., and the study was done in Vietnam, so it’s not directly the same since they have a different culture and they, on average, work several hundred hours more per year than the United States. But, it is nice to know that just because a company requires a smartphone for work use, it’s likely not going to affect my leisure time or life satisfaction in general.
What would be the next logical step in extending this study?
I believe one of the next logical steps in extending this study would be to conduct the same survey today since an even more significant percentage of individuals own a smartphone today than compared to three years ago, in a country that is a developed country and not a developing one, since the working hours are several hundred apart, and compare the results. I also believe that extending the age to include older age groups would be beneficial since most of this age group now use smartphones. It would be interesting to see if there is more of a correlation with smartphone work-related usage affecting leisure time and life satisfaction in the older age group than in the other age groups.
The smartphone is equivalent to the existence of a small mobile computer, I can’t help using smart phone at any time. Indeed, the sense of entertainment that it gave me diverted my leisure time,
This is an interesting study as the smartphone has become a non-stop connection to work. I have had a company issued smartphone for the at least 12 years (we started with Blackberries). Many of my coworkers use the phone for work and personal use to avoid paying for a cell phone plan. While I like saving money, this is something I refuse to do. If I am not on call, I turn off notifications when I get home and do not look at my work phone until I go back to work. The constant emails would have me concerned about what was happening the next day and ruin my leisure time with my family. The French laws mentioned in the article sound like a step in the right direction to me. Disconnecting from work definitely helps me to enjoy my leisure time.
This article made me think about some of the leisure activities that I used to find fun until recently and it all started to make sense. Ever sense I started using snapchat to talk with coworkers about work related topics instead of text messages whenever I see their name pop up on snap it has a sense of dread. I’ve more or less been conditioned to that name meaning more work for me even when I’m at home. It’s nice to see that this feeling is universal and not just me.