Technology has blurred the lines between working and nonworking hours. Some employees feel pressure to be constantly on, while others choose to continue working to get ahead. However, there may be danger when employees lack the ability to disconnect and recover from work. In this study, researchers (Schlacter et al., 2025) investigated the conditions under which working late can be helpful or harmful to employees.
THE RESEARCH STUDY
Over five consecutive workdays, researchers surveyed 187 participants. Each evening, participants were asked to rate how much they voluntarily engaged in technology-based work activities, the amount they were able to detach from work, how much control they felt over their work, and their emotional state and well-being. The following morning, they were again asked to rate their emotional state and well-being as well as rate their quality of sleep during the previous night.
Results indicated that when participants worked in the evening, even voluntarily, it led to the participants reporting lower levels of pleasant feelings and lower levels of well-being in the morning. This effect was lessened when employees felt like they had a sense of control when working; however, the effect worsened when employees reported poor sleep quality.
PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
As technology continues to inspire work beyond typical hours, organizations can consider doing the following to better support employees:
- Address the risks of “boundary blurring” and “work spillover” during orientation and well-being training. Make it clear to both leaders and employees that there are risks to working after hours.
- Encourage employees to disconnect and engage in mindfulness after work. This can promote recovery and well-being, and discourage bad habits, such as unnecessarily checking emails.
- Train employees to set boundaries with work-related technology, especially after hours. Consider implementing formal disconnection policies, which can further empower employees to maintain their boundaries.
Schlachter, S., Inceoglu, I., McDowall, A., & Cropley, M. (2025). Work-related technology use during nonwork time and its consequences: A resource-oriented perspective. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 98, e70047.
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