Effects of Mobile Technology on Quality of Work Life

Among information and communication technologies (ICT), mobile devices stand out for its technical sophistication and increased presence in the lives of individuals and organizations. At the same time, changes in the nature and pace of work have broadened the debate on quality of work life and, more specifically, about the work-family interface. In this qualitative study, based on categorical content analysis (Bardin, 2011), we investigated how users of smartphones deal with this technology and the impacts on their professional and personal lives. The results point to both desirable and undesirable effects, as well as changes in their individual behavior, professional and personal relationships. The smartphone brought greater flexibility of time and space, simplified organization tasks, and gave flexibility to the decision making process. On the negative side, there were feelings of dependence on technology, increased anxiety and stress. In addition, some of the paradoxes of mobile technology discussed in the literature were clearly observed.