In working life, employees are now almost expected to answer work-related e-mails or take their laptop on vacation on days off. But the blurring of boundaries between work and private life can affect people's well-being and lead to exhaustion. This is according to new Swiss research.
The researchers recruited 1,916 employees from a wide range of sectors in German-speaking countries to participate in an online survey. Most were married (70.3 percent) and their median age was 42.3 years. Half of the participants (50.1 percent) worked 40 hours or more per week, while 55.8 percent were men. They were asked how well they were able to manage the boundaries between their work and their non-working lives, for example how often they took work home, how often they worked on weekends and how often they thought about work during their free time. time.
Participants also indicated whether they made time after work to relax to socialize or participate in sports and other hobbies, and how diligently they ensured that their work did not interfere with their private lives. To measure a person's well-being, the researchers considered the participants' sense of physical and emotional exhaustion and their sense of work/non-work balance.
The researchers found that employees who did not arrange a clear separation between work and leisure were less likely to participate in activities that could help them relax and recover from career demands. They were therefore more exhausted and experienced a lower sense of balance and well-being in the various key aspects of their lives.
