Future Worker Psychology

Current and future worker psychology is affected by how we use technology to do our work

by Futuristic Work

Anecdotally, it would seem that we have all, in one way or another, been impacted by the Lockdowns over the 2020/21 period. Professionally our psychology has shifted in how we are able to fulfil our work role. 

Computer Self-Efficacy

One of the many positive unintended consequences of Lockdowns, and remote work, is that we’ve become a lot more confident in our ability to use the available technology to get our work done (known as computer-self efficacy).

Not having IT or work colleagues nearby to ‘quickly help us’ with things we’re not sure of, helped us to figure out the tech for ourselves. Doing so empowered us with greater confidence to use the apps and tech we need to get our work done. As a result, we have become more productive in what we do and how we do it.  

Flexible Working

Although the technology was already available for much of the team to effectively and efficiently work in a remote/hybrid or flexible way, this way of working was often posited as ‘impossible’.

In 2014 the UK issued the Flexible Work Regulations, which allowed any worker (not just those with caring responsibilities) to apply for flexible working arrangements. This change in regulations garnered limited press coverage and, therefore, little awareness among workers. Even then, employers often based objections to flexible work on the overriding narrative that ‘working from home was impossible’, ‘it would lower productivity levels’ and ‘it wouldn’t be good for team cohesion, company culture and overall productivity delivery’ (etc).

Then the impossible became possible, and entire workforces were shifted to a remote working environment, within a short space of time. 

If workers had all gone back to the office after those first 3 weeks to ‘flatten the curve’, very little would have psychologically changed in how work got done. The ‘old normal’ would have remained.

What has changed

Extended lockdowns meant we had to:

  • Spend time and mental energy finding better ways to work from home
  • Turn part of our home into a better working solution
  • Develop physical and psychological strategies to juggle different work and home realms, personas and commitments

Effectively more hybrid

So, we’ve inadvertently done a self-taught crash course in how to work remotely. This means we have more choice in how we now ‘do hybrid’ more effectively. We’ve tasted the flexibility that working from home/anywhere gives us, but relish the community that in-office work gives us. Research by Stanford University showcases that 50% of workers want to keep it that way and see hybrid working as a big part of managing their work-life balance more effectively. 

The downside of technology in remote work

Because a number of workers have set up a home-based work environment, there is more opportunity for workers to start their workday earlier and end their workday later. Although this may seem to increase overall productivity, it has limited benefits. Working longer hours increases energy output and reduces personal time and the time needed to psychologically transition between two life realms. 

Workers have become more used to the concept of working while at home. The habit of ‘quickly checking’ emails/messages is a lot easier to indulge as we’ve become mentally more familiarly with working away from the office. The more we check and reply to work emails the more we set expectations of others that we are available after working hours. We reduce the ability to cognitively and emotionally recover from the energy required to perform our work role. We reduce the available time to spend on our own pursuits and time with our friends and family. 

If a dedicated workspace isn’t available to visually separate working space from private-time space, workers are more likely to be constantly reminded of work after working hours. This can be especially true if a laptop or work mobile is left on and notifications can be seen/heard outside of office hours. 

Going forward – technology for work

As technology continues to shift how we use and engage in our workplace, we need to become more mindful of how our use of technology is shifting our psychology about work. If we are more mindful of the impact of work-based technology in our everyday lives, we can take more proactive steps in either enhancing the benefits or curbing the negative personal and professional impact on our psychology, productivity and mental wellbeing. 

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'The Paradox of Family Structure and Plans after Work: Why Single Childless Employees May Be the Least Absorbed at Work'.

Extracts and summary of the research by: Tracy L Dumas and Jill E. Perry-Smith (2018)

Key quotes from the research:

  • ‘single, childless workers reported lower absorption that workers with other family structures’
  • ‘anticipating domestic responsibilities after work reinforces, rather than distracts from, the work mindset, thus keeping employees more immersed psychologically in their work’

Summary of the research: 

Traditional workplace perceptions generally hold that being single is indicative of a person’s ability to be devoted to their work. Single people demonstrate this commitment by working longer hours. They additionally have less home-based distraction during and after working hours.

The same general perception is that those who are married and/or have children have family responsibilities that negatively impact devotion to work, productivity and work performance.

This research showcases the opposite to be a better reflection of reality. It found that parents are, in fact, more absorbed in their work during contracted office hours. 

  • Those who are married and/or have children tend to own their houses, take on cleaning and DIY tasks themselves and are more involved in domestic duties. These parents, when anticipating after-work chores, see their work as more fulfilling and compelling than the anticipated home-based (after-work) tasks. They tend, therefore, to be more absorbed in, focused on and productive while at work.
  • Single employees tend to engage in more leisure activities after work. These after-work activities may be more compelling than their work tasks. This may encourage their minds to wander away from the task at hand, reducing the tendency to be mentally absorbed in their work, and resulting in psychological detachment from work earlier in the day.  
  • Research by Hamilton and colleagues (2006) found that single and childless workers tended to experience greater levels of work-life conflict because of the expectation and pressures from work to be always available. This is because of the perception that they are unencumbered, and therefore always contactable. They also feel as though they do not get the support they would like from work when trying to build a non-work life. 
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'The Mere Presence of a Cell Phone May be Distracting - Implications for Attention and Task Performance'.
Extracts and summary of the research by: Bill Thornton, Alyson Faires, Maija Robbins, and Eric Rollins (2014)

Key quotes from the research:

  • ‘the use and misuse of mobile technology has negatively impacted productivity both in quantity and quality of work output attributed in large part to the interruptions occurring every 15 min and the time it takes to regain concentration afterwards’.
  • ‘a 3-s distraction (the time it takes to reach out and silence a cell phone) while conducting a sequencing task is sufficient to disrupt attention and result in twice the number of errors made in the post-disruption phase of the task; the longer the interruption, the greater the error rate’.
  • ‘the presence of a cell phone [has] a negative impact on performance when the tasks are more intentionally and cognitively demanding’. 

Summary of the research: 

Previous research has shown that using a phone can be distracting while multi-tasking, such as while walking or driving.

Recent research has even shown that the simple presence of a phone (e.g. placed on a table), with all the extended cyberspace connections and networks that it represents, can distract from and reduce the overall quality and experience of in-person physical social interactions and connections.

This research goes a step further to investigate the distracting capability of the simple presence of a mobile phone while performing tasks that require greater cognitive demands within the workplace (and in education). 

What was found is that the presence of a mobile phone had a negative impact on the quality of work performed when tasks were attentionally and cognitively demanding.

In a similar way to the ability of thoughts unrelated to the task at hand causing the mind to wander, being subconsciously aware of the potential connections that are offered by the use of a mobile phone (e.g. social media connections) may cause the mind to wander and potentially interfere with performance – especially when engaging in more complex tasks.

It is easier to maintain attention on a task at hand when there are fewer visual elements to stimulate thoughts not related to the task itself. The impact of unrelated thoughts depends entirely on the complexity of the task being completed. There is a much lower impact, for example, on tasks that require lower levels of cognitive or attentional demands.

The implications for this subtle distraction that mobile phones have on productivity in the workplace can be wide-ranging. Although the actual use of a mobile phone in the workplace has been considered by many, the distracting ability of the presence of a mobile needs to also be considered. 

An ‘out of sight, out of mind’ concept may be required in some instances, especially when more complex and cognitively demanding tasks are being attended to. 

Read the original article here

If you are unable to access the web page, you can read a PDF of the article here.

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'When You Just Cannot Get Away - Exploring the use of information and communication technologies in facilitating negative work/home spillover'.

Extracts and a summary of research by: Ronald W. Berkowsky (2013)

Key quotes from the research:

  • ‘Boundaries [between work and home], while sometimes motivated by the needs and beliefs of the individual, are often socially constructed and are based on societal norms, pressures, and expectations’. 
  • ‘Because [mobile digital technology] provides a means for individuals to be available to both work and home contacts at all times, there is an increasing potential for these contacts to impede upon a specific domain in which they do not necessarily belong’.
  • ‘[Mobile digital technology does not] dictate the permeability of the work/home interface, but are instead tools which perpetuate the structural norms associated with work/home boundaries’.
  • ‘Having a heavy workload, having unclear job expectations, and experiencing physical illness/ailments were significant predictors of negative spillover in both directions’.
  • ‘Other work-related characteristics (such as job autonomy and schedule control) … have previously been found to be significant predictors of spillover’. 

Summary of the research: 

The proliferation of mobile-based technology, since the turn of the century, has resulted in workers being constantly connected to friends, family and colleagues at all times of the day and night wherever they happen to be. This constant ability to be contacted has been a significant catalyst for increased physical and mental stress and negative well-being. Berkowski’s research is an investigation of the negative impact of digital technology’s ability to allow for work to spill over into non-work time and visa versa. 

The boundaries we set between one domain and another, and the level to which we allow one to permeate into another, are as distinct and unique as each of us are.

Prior to the introduction of mobile digital technology, the boundary between work and home was (generally) a simplistic and definitive one, determined by a geographic boundary between the two life realms. Mobile digital technology has removed this geographic boundary between work and home, resulting in one that was already more permeable prior to the onset of mass remote and hybrid working. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. 

The advantages are:

  • Life and work roles have the ability to enrich each other – i.e. a positive mood in one life realm can counteract any negative or stressful circumstances in another
  • Being successful in one role can compensate for any areas needing improvement in the other
  • Skillsets and competencies in one role can translate into the other – so participating in a number of different life roles can counterbalance negative stress and struggles in another

The disadvantages are: 

  • ‘Role interference’ – where the stress and negativity of one role can impact on other life realms
  • Work interruptions during private time can reduce the amount of time spent with significant others, reduce overall energy levels and take time away from personal pursuits

The level of either positive or negative impact that the more permeable boundary has on the individual is determined by the preference they have for allowing work to spill over into private time or visa versa.

The level of stress and anxiety is determined by the level of individual ability to meet these expectations in practice. e.g. if someone prefers to have their home and work life overlap, stress and anxiety result when they are not able to do so – either because workplace policies do not allow them to do so or a partner may have a strong preference for a clear segmented approach to work and home life.

Alternatively, if someone prefers very little overlap between work and home, but a line manager or client either sets a meeting for (or sends messages, emails, or calls) outside of official working hours asking questions or expecting a reply, this can result in higher levels of anxiety and stress, both for the work and others within the household. 

The impact of technology use during private time: 

  • Those who have higher levels of ambition and are more involved in their job role are more likely to use mobile technology after work, which results in higher levels of conflict in home life
  • Perceived usefulness of technology, organisational pressures, and after-hours supplementary work is directly associated with work-to-family conflict
  • Checking emails and work-based mobile use, over time, was linked to work negatively spilling over to private time, which was linked to higher levels of distress and lower family satisfaction.
  • Using Social Media to connect with work colleagues in private time can help to reduce stress, as social media is viewed as a means to socially engage with work colleagues outside of work commitments.
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According to research, some personality types are more prone to certain technology use behaviours e.g. those who have a higher neurotic personality trait can become fixated a little more on checking and responding to emails and messages from work on a regular basis, even during private time.

They may also tend to worry about the message itself, how to fix the situation or what the person who sent the message thought about them, and what impact this may have on their job.

They will often keep on checking emails and messages for a response to the last message sent because they worry about it until they get the response.

Hints and Tips:

If you are a bit like this, it could be worth not uploading work emails to your mobile device and switching your computer off at the end of the workday. Keeping emails on your computer and having to switch your computer on after hours in order to access emails – means you are slightly less likely to look at and engage with them after hours.

Have a separate work and personal mobile. This way, you can switch your work phone off at the end of the day.

Have an easily accessible workbook that you can jot down things that you forgot you need to do the next day. Try not to be tempted to turn your computer on, or pick up your mobile to quickly make a note. It’s all too easy for that to turn into a 3-hour work session that takes you away from your family or from your own recovery.

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We don’t often consider how personalities, can play into how we ‘do work’ and remote/hybrid working in particular.

A lot of research has been done trying to find out how personality type is linked to engagement with technology and apps. Results are often vague or contradictory. However, there are some useful insights that we can consider. One of these is how introverts and extroverts fare while remote or hybrid working. 

Introverts

We tend to think of introverts as shy and extroverts as outspoken. But, from a psychological point of view, introverts are those who find that interacting with others drains them of energy. They need to spend time on their own to recharge. Someone can be really sociable and also be an introvert.

They find working in an office really tiring and find remote working to be easier and less tiring than working in an office. They are more likely to revel in the lower levels of colleague engagement that remote working affords. They may also feel more emotionally and mentally tired when they have to attend extended periods of video calls or have to attend to a constant stream of messages and emails. In the same way as people coming over to the desk on a regular basis, having to keep a messaging window open on their screen all day, can become really tiring.

Hints and Tips:

If you are more of an introvert, try closing your email or messaging apps for chunks of time during the day. If this needs a conversation with your manager and colleagues to let them know that you need blocks of focussed time, then chat with them about when the best time would be for you to do this.

Others quickly get used to you being available via email during specific hours each day, and they often work around it, or they just call if there is anything really urgent that needs dealing with.

Extroverts

In contrast, extroverts tend to get their energy from spending time with others. Someone can be quite shy but also be an extrovert.

Extroverts need regular face-to-face contact and engagement. They are more likely to, therefore, set up online meetings, or go to every online meeting set up by others. They tend to spend a lot of time on, and distract themselves with a lot, of emails and messages.

Sending and reading messages substantially reduces overall concentration and productivity levels. Additionally, extroverts are also more likely to be bored, and frustrated and often, therefore, more likely to play games, spend time on social media and distract themselves with many tasks at once.

Because they get energy from being around others, they are the ones more likely to want to return to the office full-time and are less likely to understand why others prefer not to.

Hints and Tips:

If you are more of an extrovert and required to work remotely most of the time, make a conscious effort to allocate time to focus on engaging with others during the day. Simple things like going to a local coffee shop to work for a few hours or going to your local store and chatting with the teller can help.

Doing this may reduce the need to dabble in excessive messaging and emails, playing games and checking out social media. It may also help you become more focussed and productive once you have received the ‘social fix’ you need.

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Work and home boundaries were abandoned during the first lockdown with both life realms being geographically merged for the first time for most.

Since then, we’ve adjusted our boundaries and had time to figure out what does or doesn’t work for us. We’ve also had time to shift our perspectives on what is possible and optimal for us and our teams, in a way that can give us the benefits of being fully in-office, hybrid or fully remote. 

However we work, what is important is having a psychological boundary between work and home tasks. We need to have a strategic work-life balance strategy that dedicates chunks of time outside of work to people and activities that aren’t work related and switching off workplace tech during private time. 

Everyone’s definition of what a good work-life balance is can be fundamentally different. But, having a personal work-life balance strategy that allows for cognitive energy recovery time is essential to being a more effective, productive worker because cognitive recovery directly impacts thinking skills, memory, stress levels and mental health. 

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The Post-2021 Remote Work Pivot Point

Trickling in during the summer of 2021, the second pivot point started gaining traction. 

The statistics around the number of those who want to return to the office full-time and those wanting a more hybrid way of working differs across studies. But generally: 

56% of knowledge workers prefer to work from home & 39% want to return to the office *

Whatever statistics you may find: 

  • We know that a number of workers do not want to psychologically return to the ‘old normal’
  • We know that those who had more autonomy and job control during Lockdowns had lower overall stress and anxiety levels
  • Once a worker realises they can be more productive with lower levels of stress, it becomes difficult to return to a more controlling, less productive work environment. 

Although the main arguments from those desiring a return to the ‘old normal’, hang on the narrative of productivity levels when working from home, there is a potential that the main driving force behind that narrative is what Apple employees in their open letter to their management describe as ‘the fear of the future of work, the fear of worker autonomy and the fear of losing control’. 

The more a company insists on returning to the ‘old normal’, the more out of step they become with current and future worker ideals. Because the future of work is moving towards us faster than we realise. The past two years have given us an idea and understanding of how quickly and radically technology can shift how we work. We need to be ready for this workplace future. 

* WFH Research has the latest data on Working From Home and Hybrid Working Preferences amongst knowledge workers.

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There are a few considerations regarding how we manage the way digital work could affect us psychologically going forward. 

The first is that prior to March 2020 digital technology was shifting the workplace and how we conducted work, at a slow but constant pace. But, up to mid-March 2020, even though the technology was available, most companies insisted that it was impossible for people and teams to work effectively from home or remotely. They often said that productivity, creativity and teamwork would suffer. That it couldn’t be done. That it was impossible.

Then ‘the impossible’ became ‘the necessary’. Our daily lives were upended and we had to psychologically (not just physically) re-orient ourselves, our behaviours and habits into new ways of doing things and learning new technology in the process. 

However, the original ‘3 weeks to flatten the curve’ turned into almost 2 years and remote work disruption morphed into an adjusted norm. From a CyberPsychology perspective, one of the main benefits of remote working was the increase in confidence in technology use amongst remote workers. Without colleagues or IT close at hand, workers were forced to figure out how to use IT on their own and needed to acquire greater levels of IT competence (known as computer self-efficacy) in using the tools required to get the work done.

Being more confident in using the tools required to complete the work, gives the worker the ability to be more productive, efficient and effective. 

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London Law Expo – Digital Technology is Shifting the Psychology of How We Work

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24 May 2022 (In Person -133 Houndsditch, London) 

Digital Technology is Shifting the Psychology of How We Work

Since the rise of mobile technology, working patterns and workplace expectations have shifted. 

The digital, hybrid environment that we now operate in, is evolving the norms that once persisted within the workplace. In order to understand what needs to change, we need to recognising what and how employee psychology and engagement with digital work has evolved, and how this affects employee’s productivity and engagement with work, both now and going forward. 

In this presentation Carolyn Freeman draws on psychological workplace research both pre and post Covid-19 lockdowns. She highlights how digital technology has impacted us both individually and professionally, how it affects how we do our work, how it impacts our psychological wellbeing, and what we can do about it. 

The talk includes:

•How digital media affects employee’s attention, focus, productivity and engagement,
•The impact of personality on our ability to effectively work in a hybrid workplace,
•How digital and hybrid work will become increasingly at odds with the ‘old school’ workplace norms and expectations
•What remote and hybrid work impacts our psychological wellbeing, and what we can do about it.

You can listen to the audio of the talk in the London Law Expo Podcast available here.

You can watch their Expo video below (timestamp: 2:30).

After 2 years of no in-person meet-ups, the London Law Expo returned to London in 2022 to welcome visitors from the world of legal practice management, technology and IT security. This major international law event included 3 presentation stages and, over 30 expert speakers and over 40 exhibitors.

The Expo explored a wide array of topics, issues and opportunities to assist law firms and legal businesses increase their overall performance, profitability and levels of IT security.

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