Look no further than unionization efforts—and successes—for real-world proof of the disconnect between employees’ and employers’ work-life expectations. From Trader Joe’s and Barnes & Noble to news organizations and the auto industry, employees are organizing in record numbers to demonstrate their mistrust of management and demand more.
One Gallup poll, for instance, found that 67% of Americans now approve of unions, and another showed that 88% of those under 30 see unions in a positive light. “We’re renegotiating that view of what we think is reasonable to expect, and I think workplaces are trying to figure out how to respond to that,” Gerhardt said.
Some of that renegotiation is around where to work. When Amazon, for one, announced its return-to-office mandate, which requires that all employees must work full-time in the office beginning January 2025, many employees were outraged. One survey conducted days after the announcement found that 73% said they were considering finding another job to avoid complying with the policy.
Not that the company, or the many others expected to follow suit, really care, said Kriegel, whose doctoral research focused on human resources development, educational leadership, and management. “These big companies are not worried about losing workers—they welcome it; they’re overstaffed,” she said. “They are all going to be downsizing from here on out.”
Psychologists are redirecting the debate by gathering data and pointing to evidence showing what really works for office-type jobs that can be done remotely.
In one 2024 study in the journal Nature, for instance, researchers randomly assigned 1,612 employees of a Chinese technology company to work from the office either 5 days a week or 3 days a week. After 6 months, the study authors found that the hybrid model improved job satisfaction and reduced quit rates by one third, with no effect on performance or promotions (Bloom, N., et al. Nature, Vol. 630, 2024).
That’s not to say hybrid or remote work is flawless. Elizabeth Marsh, PhD, a researcher in England’s University of Nottingham’s School of Psychology, has studied some of the “dark side effects” of a digital workplace. She found that workers can struggle to manage both “information overload” from technology (think nonstop Slack messages and Zoom meetings) and the “fear of missing out” on information if they don’t stay technologically engaged. (Marsh, E., et al. Sage Open, Vol. 14, No. 3, 2024).
“Technology has really eroded our boundaries—that was true pre-pandemic and that’s really gotten true since the pandemic,” says Jason Wang, PhD, a therapist and owner of Inflection Points Therapy in Washington, D.C., who specializes in working with patients with career issues. “We proliferated the number of tech tools needed to communicate with each other during the pandemic, and a lot of those haven’t been pulled back.”
One related outcome: micromanagement. In one study conducted during COVID, for instance, Zhou and colleagues found that remote workers reported higher self-regulation at work and better work outcomes when supervisors were equally supportive and offered a sense of control. If supervisors’ behaviors weren’t balanced, though, workers did better if their bosses offered more support than control (Gan, J., et al. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 34, No. 15, 2023).
At the same time, many workers are lacking direction in the place they need it: the use of artificial intelligence (AI). In APA’s 2024 Work in America survey, 35% of workers said they’re using the technology at least monthly to assist on the job, but only 18% reported knowing that their employer has an official policy on how to use AI appropriately.
Instead of simply waiting for a consensus about the best use of digital tools, some strategies can help remote workers take their workplace well-being into their own hands. In another 2024 study, Marsh and colleagues found that both digital mindfulness (like consciously taking screen breaks and being aware of how technology is affecting you emotionally and physically) and digital confidence (feeling capable of using said technology) protected digital workers against stress, anxiety, and overload (PLOS ONE, Vol. 19, No. 2, 2024).
“That process of reflection on our digital practices is one of the strongest things [we can do]—not ‘we should or shouldn’t’ do certain things,” Marsh said.
This article was written by from www.apa.org
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