Technology has become part of society’s everyday functioning, changing rapidly and providing widespread mobility. Employees are moving towards a continually connected lifestyle, a situation in which information and communication technology (ICT) seem to have become omnipresent.
The overall objective of this research was to investigate the influence of ICT on employees’ work and personal lives.
The impact of ICT on the work and personal lives of employees has never been researched before, which motivated the current study.
A qualitative research design, with a sample of 25 employees, was followed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data, and the interviews were recorded, transcribed, and processed through thematic analyses.
Five themes with sub-themes were extracted: The positive and negative experiences of ICT both within the work and personal lives of employees, the increased expectations brought about by ICT usage, and the role of ICT on relationships. Findings highlighted that although ICT are generally perceived as positive, employees should make a conscious decision in managing their ICT to decrease the negative impact thereof on their work and personal lives.
Overall, the general positive experiences of ICT outweigh the negative experiences, and findings almost suggest that as the quantity of communication increased, the quality of conversations decreased.
This study provides a holistic understanding of the impact of ICT on the work and personal lives of employees.
The world changed drastically in the past few decades with a large majority of these changes due to the increased infiltration of technology in society. This alters the way individuals think, interact, and complete their tasks (Marius,
Currently, technology is advancing rapidly. In 2014, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) (Delmas,
More recent research in the field of ICT seems to focus more on the influence or impact certain ICT devices – or the particular usage of such a device – have on a specific environment or concept. The main focus is usually centred within the education environment (how technology can be used to improve teaching) and on the impact of ICT diffusion in general (Achimugu
Within the work environment, it seems most research is focused on the influence of ICT on certain industries or organisations (Hall
Based on the introduction, this study aims to explore the influence of ICT on employees’ functioning in various work environments (as opposed to certain industries or organisations). This will provide a holistic understanding of the impact of ICT on the work lives of employees and how it in turn affects the personal lives of employees. Therefore, the specific objectives of this research are (1) to explore the role of ICT on employees’ work life, (2) to explore the role of ICT on employees’ working relationships, (3) to explore the role of ICT on employees’ personal life, and 4) to explore the role of ICT on employees’ personal relationships. In the next section, a literature review will aim to state the perspective of the study, conceptualise ICT in order to provide a general idea of what the concept entails and to explore the impact of ICT on the work lives and personal lives of employees.
Madden and Jones (
From the information mentioned above, it is evident that various ICT devices and platforms have influenced society. However, people’s understanding of ICT and its influence in a broader sense is not well-documented. Schmidt
The role of ICT, as mentioned previously, has not been studied adequately, and this prompted the researcher to investigate the phenomena in depth, which supports the notion of a qualitative research design (Snape & Spencer,
This study followed a multiple case study strategy because employees working for various selected organisations were included. However, some inclusion criteria were followed in identifying and approaching the units of analysis (employees). Therefore, the following inclusion criteria were applied: participants were required to (1) own and use more than two
Interviews were conducted in a professional manner and at the convenience of the participants. The researcher made sure that the interviews were conducted in an environment where the participants felt comfortable and minimal or no disruptions could be expected. To help provide a comfortable setting, the interviews were conducted in the participant’s home language and the majority of the interviews took place at the participant’s home or a private boardroom at his or her office.
The first author initiated the research and fulfilled a more active role in the overall research project. The roles he played were that of conceptualiser of the study, data collector, data evaluator, and documenter of research. The second author assisted with conceptualising the research study, acted as co-coder for the data, and co-documenter of the research. The third author acted as quality controller of the final documented research. As no single employer or organisation was approached for the research, no mediator or gatekeeper was required. Permission and informed consent was thus originally obtained from each participant.
A combined, purposive, and snowball non-probability sample (
Participants were mainly males (64%), aged between 24 years and 60 years, with 36% aged between 24 years and 30 years. The majority of the participants (72%) were married with 63% of the married participants indicating that they have children. Participants were employed in the following industries: finance sector (20%), education and the legal industry (16%), medical (8%), mining (8%), and other business services such as real estate and manufacturing (32%). The majority of the participants (60%) indicated that they use three ICT devices and 32% of participants use four or more ICT devices on a daily basis.
Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, which allowed the researcher to focus on specific themes whilst staying true to the conversational style of interviewing (Raworth
For what purposes or reasons and how do you use your ICT devices at work?
For what purposes and reasons and how do you use your ICT devices in your personal environment?
How do you experience the role of your ICT devices in your work and work relationships?
How do you experience the role of your ICT devices in your personal relationships?
Prior to the interviews, the researcher contacted the participants to schedule an appointment at their convenience. The participants were informed beforehand that the content of the interview will be kept confidential and will only be used for purposes of research. Moreover, before the interview commenced, the participants were made aware of the research objective and was provided a brief background on the research to help them grasp the context. The participants were also informed of the process which the interview will follow and were given the opportunity to ask questions, if any. All participants were required to sign an informed consent form together with completing a biographical questionnaire. Finally, the participants were informed that they had the right to withdraw from the interview or the research at any time. They were provided with the researcher’s contact details in case of any further queries or contributions.
With the consent of the participants, the interviews were tape-recorded and stored on a secured server to which only the researcher had access. To ensure confidentiality, the recordings, notes, and completed forms were stored in a safe place. A list of the participants was created in which each participant was allocated a number. Throughout the research, the corresponding number of a particular participant was used to store the relevant forms, recordings, and data. Field notes (completed after each interview) were used to capture the thoughts of the researcher during the interviews for further analysis at a later stage (Bogdan & Biklen,
Mays (
The verbatim transcribed interviews along with the field notes were analysed through thematic analysis. Thematic analysis is the process of identifying, analysing, and reporting patterns from responses or data which allow the researcher to organise and describe the data in detail (Braun & Clarke,
The four main themes were reported through illustrative material such as figures and tables. The use of illustrative material such as figures was employed to ensure that the reader kept track of the flow of data as the researcher intended (Wagner
The main purpose of this research was to explore the role of ICT on employees’ work and personal domains. Five themes were extracted, namely (1) positive experiences of ICT, (2) negative experiences of ICT, (3) the dependency on ICT usage, (4) new and additional expectations brought about by ICT usage, and (5) the role of ICT usage on relationships (
Theme 1: Positive experiences of ICT.
Participants experience | Sub-theme | Associated meaning |
---|---|---|
ICT as positive at work because it | Allows them to be more effective and productive | It allows a person to work faster, communicate easier and more rapidly, makes work easier, and improves the quality of work |
Increases their availability | Allows a person to be available continuously to a client or employer | |
Helps them establish and maintain virtual offices | Allows people to create a virtual office either to manage their physical offices (more than one), or to work away from the work environment | |
Provides easy access | Allows a person to have continuous access to work information, systems, and documents even when not at work, which creates a mobile workforce | |
Saves time | Saves time by removing traveling time as ICT can be used instead to perform tasks quicker | |
Increases the competitive advantage of organisations | Gives organisations a competitive advantage by providing more options to communicate to and with customers and clients | |
Facilitates obtaining and sharing of information | Allows a person to stay informed on work-related topics and information, and enables to share and obtain information quickly and easily | |
Supports globalisation | Allows people to interact and work across time zones and countries, making the world ‘a smaller place’ | |
ICT as positive outside the work context because it | Allows users to reach family members | Makes it possible to always get hold of family and friends (specifically in emergencies) and to keep in touch with friends and family who are close-by or distant |
Provides access and synchronisation to and of information | Provides ‘always connected’ access to all your files and documents through synchronisation software such as Dropbox | |
Increases personal efficiency | Makes it possible to be more flexible with your time, allows you to multi-task, and makes a person more effective | |
Facilitates obtaining and sharing of information | Makes it possible to easily and quickly share and obtain information | |
Provides cheaper alternative | Using ICT is less expensive than the alternative with regards to communication |
ICT, information and communication technology.
It was evident from the analysis that most participants experience the increase in their ‘I think our quality is higher and I think when you look at things like productivity, yes there are more outputs. As far as quality is concerned I do not have any doubts that it had a tremendous impact.’ (Participant 6)
Participants further mentioned that their use of ICT ‘Every device that I have, my cell phone, my laptop, my tablet, they are all connected with my work emails. I am never away from my work basically.’ (Participant 7)
Participants also indicated that ICT allowed them to ‘I wouldn’t be able to do as many countries as I do. I wouldn’t be able to move as fast as I do. I certainly couldn’t do the job that I do, in the time allocated.’ (Participant 9)
Other participants added that ICT allowed them to
Participants further indicated that, outside of the work context, ICT allowed them to
Interestingly, although the positive experiences almost outweighed the negative ones, participants do sometimes experience the use of ICT as negative. Subsequently Theme 2, the negative experience of ICT both at work and outside the work context are discussed and summarised in
Theme 2: Negative experiences of ICT.
Participants experience | Sub-theme | Associated meaning |
---|---|---|
ICT usage at work as negative because it | Increases pressure | The usage of ICT in the workplace creates additional pressures regarding communication and effectiveness |
Can be used as an excuse | People use ICT as a convenient excuse to avoid direct communication | |
Compromises the chain of command | The usage of ICT at work removes the hierarchy of command regarding communication in the workplace | |
ICT usage as negative outside the work context because it | Creates a distraction | The use of ICT devices can create or become a distraction from work or from the personal domain |
Makes people lose track of time | The use of ICT lets a person in some cases lose track of time whilst using the device | |
Compromises employees’ confidentiality | The use of ICT creates an electronic, non-erasable paper trail and allows unwanted people to obtain access to personal or confidential information | |
Decreases face-to-face communication | The use of ICT to communicate decreases face-to-face communication between people |
ICT, information and communication technology.
In this sample, participants experienced
Participants mentioned further that employees would often use their ICT at work as a
‘I think particularly when you work with people, it is easier for them to use their computer and write a ‘snotty’ e-mail rather than looking you in the eye.’ (Participant 24)
From the analyses it also seemed that ICT
‘So let’s say, the manager has a certain planning on what a person should do but in the meantime he is getting so much tasks or requests from everyone else that he can’t do it…’ (Participant 14)
Furthermore, participants stated that ICT usage
‘It is bad because you just want to answer quickly and then after five times of ‘answering quickly’ it takes an hour of your evening and it is difficult to manage because you want to be diligent in doing so.’ (Participant 8)
Participants also pointed out that the use of ICT devices to communicate led to
Theme 3: The dependency on ICT usage.
Sub-theme | Associated meaning |
---|---|
Total dependence on ICT for work | People become dependent on their ICT devices to be able to work |
Addiction to ICT | People become addicted to their devices; they are afraid to go anywhere without their devices |
Changes the norm for availability | With ICT becoming ever-present, the norm changes for a person to be accessible throughout (to work or family) |
Creates a general dependency | People became dependent on their devices to stay informed in general, on social media, and to manage their lives |
ICT, information and communication technology.
From the analyses, it was evident that the role of ICT was also evident in terms of dependability and the negative effect thereof.
One of the most interesting findings was that ICT changed the norm of availability. In the past, people were not expected to be reachable continually by both their family and their employer. However, the current expectation is that an individual should be reachable through his/her ICT devices. The following response illustrates this situation well with the participant expressing her concern when she has difficulty reaching her husband on his mobile phone:
‘If you can’t get hold of him you begin to panic, as a simple example, if I try to get hold of Kobus and his phone is off I start to panic because I think, why is he not there, then it ends up to be something simple like he is in a meeting and he had to turn his phone off.’ (Participant 18)
The usage of ICT also brought the aspects of addiction and dependability to the front, where employees become so dependent and addicted to their ICT that it may become almost problematic with negative effects, as illustrated below:
‘I think that we are at that point these days where you hardly go without your cell phone, not only for work. I think to a big degree it is more for social networks, people on Facebook and Twitter and BBM and those type of things, so it is very traumatic for a person to be without his phone.’ (Participant 14)
In addition to experiencing the usage of ICT as both positive and/or negative, data analyses revealed the increase in expectations brought about by the usage of ICT (Theme 3). This theme is summarised in
Theme 4: New and additional expectations brought about by ICT usage.
Sub-themes | Associated meaning |
---|---|
Increases the expected time of response | Creates the expectation that people will be available and will be able to respond immediately to a request |
Creates the expectation for higher productivity | Creates the expectation that people will be more productive as ICT allows a person to be more efficient |
Increases the expectation of continuous availability | Creates the expectation that a person will be available throughout to work as the ICT provides this opportunity |
ICT, information and communication technology.
‘Today it is immediate, if your clients send you an e-mail it is there, no matter where in the world you may be. He wants an answer because he knows you have received it. It has increased the pace of life enormously – the working life.’ (Participant 1)
The participants also alluded to the fact that advancements in technology also brought about an
Theme 5: The role of ICT usage on relationships.
Sub-themes | Associated meaning |
---|---|
Maintains personal relationships | Helps maintain relationships with family and friends both close-by and distant |
Inhibits personal conversations and intimacy of conversations | Decreases the personal and intimate aspect in conversations and relationships by removing face-to-face communication and using ICT to communicate in simple terms |
Usurps time in relationships | Creates distractions and takes time away from one’s family either through working or spending time on devices instead of with family and friends. In some cases, this distraction can occur in the middle of a face-to-face conversation |
Enables communication between co-workers | Allows a person to communicate easily and quickly with co-workers |
Decreases the need for interaction | By using ICT for communication and on social networks, it decreases the need to communicate |
Builds productive relationships | Allows for more productive relationships by saving time and making communication easy and quick |
Establishes new relationships | Enables a person to establish new relationships, even across geographical boundaries |
Enhances communication | Increases the frequency of individuals’ communication with family, friends, and co-workers |
ICT, information and communication technology.
As derived from
The most mentioned role of ICT on relationships is the ability to
‘I have a very good friend in England, who’s a colleague of mine. I most probably speak to him every second day on Skype and if I didn’t have that technology I certainly wouldn’t have the same kind of relationship or get the information that I need from him.’ (Participant 9)
Regarding the
An interesting sub-theme identified was the trend of a
The general objective of this study was to determine the impact ICT has on the work and personal lives of employees. The five themes extracted from the interviews provided valuable insights into the usage of ICT and the role these devices play in employees’ environment. The findings did not only highlight employees’ negative and positive experiences of ICT usage but also pointed out the role ICT plays in employees’ relationships and the increased expectation brought about by adopting these devices. Although some of the findings are supported by previous research, the present research still contributed unique findings to literature on the role of ICT.
One unique finding from this research was the overall positive experiences of ICT outweighing the negative experiences. The participants experienced the role of ICT to be more positive than negative. Although previous research studies on this topic (Casey,
The various options for communication with others also save time. Some participants explained that because they are able to communicate and share information with others through ICT, it eliminates travel time. Apart from saving time, ICT also saves costs for employees. This was particularly relevant for employees when using ICT outside their work domain. Participants mentioned that ICT provides cheaper alternatives to communicate through applications such as WhatsApp, which is less costly than a traditional text message. Besides providing a cheaper option for communication, ICT also allows employees to stay in touch with family members across geographical boundaries. Employees mentioned that they are able to communicate with distant family members, and still be part of their lives, through applications such as Skype. Ljung and Wahlforss (
Regarding the negative role of ICT, the most dominant experience was the increased pressure brought about by these devices. One unique finding of the present research is the negative experience of ICT compromising the chain of command in organisations. Employees, particularly those in managerial positions, mentioned that ICT makes it difficult for them to manage their subordinates and departments. They continued to explain that ICT allows employees within the organisation to allocate tasks more easily to their subordinates without their knowledge.
ICT also creates distraction in employees’ lives, specifically within their family domain, and takes time away from being with their families. Casey (
A very interesting sub-theme, related to the negative experiences of ICT, was the total dependency on ICT. Employees mentioned a total dependency on ICT, especially for work, to such an extent where they became addicted to their ICT devices. This supports research on the notion that ICT addictiveness should be classified as a mental disorder in the
The availability and access provided by ICT devices also changed the norm of accessibility. Individuals are nowadays expected to be available throughout to both their employer and family, seeing that ICT allows them this scope of accessibility. Not only did the norm of accessibility change, but ICT also created renewed expectations of employees to be more productive. Employees mentioned that although a positive experience of ICT is increased efficiency, the adoption of ITC overstretches expectations of increasing productivity. One employee mentioned that, after the adoption of ITC, they are expected to complete tasks quickly with the ‘push of a button’. Along with the expectation to be available throughout, they are also required to respond to messages in a shorter timespan than in the past. This could also contribute to the increased work pressure that employees’ experience. The syndrome of such overstretched expectations of increased productivity and continuous accessibility is known as technostress (Tarafdar
ICT also played a significant role in the relationships within employee’s work and family domains, both in a positive and negative way. Findings suggest that although ICT increases the frequency of communication between individuals, it decreased the quality of conversations. ICT helps employees to establish and maintain new relationships, particularly across geographical boundaries. Employees also mentioned that ICT helped them to build more productive relationships. By using ICT, employees found that they were more efficient in their communication and were able to provide information to their co-workers quicker and easier. Although previous literature indicates an increase in work productivity by using ICT (Kamaruzzaman
It is evident that an organisation should be aware of the impact of ICT on their employees and should strive to implement policies and procedures to assist their employees in managing the impact of ICT. As the present research highlighted the issue of increased expectations brought about by ICT, organisations should be aware of the expectancy from managers to reach their subordinates outside normal working hours which can become problematic. Employees may view such contact as infringement on their privacy as it provides managers with power outside the work environment. Managers should be realistic in their expectations of their employees. The downside is that organisations could face possible legal action based on their workers’ ICT addiction brought about by the increased expectations to be available throughout (Kakabadse
The present research is, however, not without certain limitations. Using interviews meant the researchers relied on self-reported data as source of information. Although self-report data is a research method commonly used in behavioural research, researchers should be aware of its limitations (i.e. social desirability, recall bias, and mental editing). In addition, this research only investigated the employees themselves and did not extend the unit of analysis to include the households of the employees (esp. the partner or spouse). Additional information could have been gathered, especially concerning the type of ICT devices the participants utilised.
Future research could specifically investigate the relationship between the degree of ICT adoption – both by the employee and the organisation. A possible suggestion would be a comparative study between organisations with high degree of ICT use and those whose employees show less ICT use. A comparative research can also be done on the differences between employees using one device against those using multiple devices. The focus can be on differences in (1) their WLI, (2) the decrease in face-to-face communication, and (3) their dependency on ICT. The trend the current research identified according to which ICT increases the frequency of communication but decreases the quality of conversations could also be investigated in more detail. This could be done by focusing research particularly on the influence ICT usage exerts on communication between employees and their co-workers, as well as with family members. Organisations can implement a code of conduct or provide guidelines to try and eliminate intrusive and excessive use of ICT, specifically after working hours. This strategy is supported by previous literature which mentions that by implementing limits on contacting employees outside working hours the inappropriate use of ICT can be decreased (Drew & Murtagh,
The research showed valuable insights into the role of ICT on employees’ work and family domains. It was evident from the data that the role of ICT was predominantly experienced as positive, although some negative influences were also experienced. Participants also indicated a degree of dependency on ICT to complete everyday work and family tasks. The role of ICT on employees’ relationships was also experienced as positive and negative. The research highlighted that employees should make a conscious decision in managing their ICT to decrease the negative influence thereof on their domains.
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships which may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
W.d.W. was in charge of the study design, data collection, data analysis and the write-up of the total manuscript. E.K. was the supervisor of the study who assisted in the data analysis and write-up of the manuscript. J.A.N. evaluated the total manuscript and prepared it for publication.