Psychologist Dr Daantje Derks has been appointed professor of Technology facilitated work-life integration at Erasmus University Rotterdam. The question of how we can take full advantage of the benefits smartphones bring to our lives without suffering too much from their drawbacks will be the focus of her chair in the coming years.
Communication technology in general—and smartphones in particular—have become common practice both in organizational and in private life. One of the most valued benefits of the smartphone is that has become possible to attend to different life roles across different life domains, which enables the coordination of work and family demands. Therefore, the boundaries between work and other life domains became more permeable and more flexible. This resulted in the higher work-life integration that is characteristic of working in the digital age and which is associated with costs in terms of employee well-being, stress, recovery, and work-life (in)balance.
Besides these associated costs, communication technology has many benefits as well. It fosters flexibility in work schedules; provides employees with autonomy over their work location, and it gives unlimited access to real-time information, systems, and people. Also, the communication devices are so intertwined with our lives that it has become almost impossible to live without them. Therefore, we must find a way in which we can profit optimally from the benefits without having high costs in terms of work-life (in)balance, health and well-being.
" First, it is important to look beyond the scope of the individual employee who is not living and working in a social vacuum. In other words, it is important to take the social context into account. Here, you can think of norms regarding availability during off-job hours or modelling behaviour of supervisors. By looking beyond the psychological lens and integrating insights from psychology, sociology, human-computer interaction and communication science, new theoretical insights are developed that advance the understanding of technology-facilitated work-life integration from an interdisciplinary perspective, “ indicates Derks.
"In my research, the practical implications of the findings are also very important. Which strategies and tactics work best to use the smartphone use in such a way that it optimizes the benefits it brings without suffering too much from the disadvantages? However, we first need more knowledge to provide well-grounded advice. This appointment enables me to do the in-depth and multi-facetted research that is necessary to do this; I am really looking forward to it", says Derks.
About Daantje Derks
Prof. Dr. Daantje Derks has been at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB) since 2008 and since December 2015 as an Associate Professor of Work and Organizational Psychology. She studies the impact of digital media at work and is also involved in setting up the master specialization, Psychology of Digital Media. She actively bridges science and the work context by conducting applied research and giving lectures and workshops on this topic. The Chair is part of the team Work and Organisational Psychology / Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies
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Marjolein Kooistra, communications ESSB, 31 683676038, kooistra@essb.eur.nl
