Omnipresent work: how to separate job and private life

In a large-scale intervention study (N=1,645), the research team investigated how working individuals can establish a health- and performance-promoting boundary between their work and their private life. The team implemented three different intervention approaches to target specific groups: a smartphone app for individuals, an e-learning tool for supervisors and a workshop for teams. Participants completed four surveys over a six-month period to analyse the short- and long-term effects of the interventions.

Digitalisation significantly influences work processes and work-related communication. The use of information and communication technology (ICT) for work purposes and the expectation that employees be available during nonwork hours presents both opportunities and risks for the economy and the workforce. Organisations increasingly promote ICT use and extended availability to improve productivity. These practices can be described as integration enactment, reflecting the deliberate blending of work and non-work domains through technology. Despite its growing prevalence, research on the impact of integration enactment on performance remains scarce, while various studies indicate that it is associated with increased work/non-work conflict and poorer well-being.

The project had two goals. On the one hand, it aimed to increase understanding of the consequences of integration enactment. On the other, it aimed to develop and evaluate three interventions designed to improve the management of boundaries, with the end goal of reducing work/non-work conflicts, enhancing well-being and supporting sustained performance.

The work-related use of ICT facilitates the blending of work and non-work domains. Integration enactment (i.e. when employees work outside their regular working hours and are available for work-related tasks during their non-work hours) is associated with both positive and negative outcomes. In particular, integration enactment was negatively related to employees’ well-being and work-life balance, while it was positively linked to performance. The interventions helped to reinforce the boundaries between work and private life; however, the results also suggest that, in addition to using tactics to separate the two life domains, working conditions should be adapted to improve work-life balance. For employers, it is important to recognise that working outside of regular hours and being constantly available can harm employees’ well-being. Short and low-cost interventions can effectively promote boundary management techniques and mental detachment from work, but should be complemented by additional measures.

Three main messages

1. The work-related use of information and communication technology facilitates the blending of work and non-work domains. Integration enactment (i.e. when employees work outside their regular working hours and are available for work during their non-work hours) is associated with both positive and negative outcomes. Specifically, integration enactment was negatively related to employees’ well-being and work-life balance, while it was positively linked to performance.
2. The use of boundary management tactics is related to better mental detachment from work, which in turn facilitates recovery from work.
3. The developed interventions (smartphone app, e-learning tool, team workshop) are effective in increasing the use of boundary management strategies and improving mental detachment. Two of the three interventions are already freely available to the public:

• E-learning for supervisors: Their Digital Balance | FHNW
• Workshop for teams: Our Digital Balance | FHNW

Information and Communication Technology and Boundary Management - A Multilevel Intervention Program to Promote Work-Nonwork Balance, Well-Being, and Performance