Industry surveys are pointing that the vast majority of cell phone users are using smart phones these days. But you really don't need industry surveys to know that, just go outside or inside anything and you will see empirical evidence to back me up.
Employers also know this fact and its something thats on their mind. For most employers a smart phone can be seen at its best a time waster, something else that needs to be dealt with. Within other industries a cell phone is viewed as a security issue, think credit card companies or over the phone sales where credit card numbers are thrown around.
I know for me my phone isn't ever too far away (on average only 11.6 inches away) at any given time. I have been know to turn around and go back three miles when its forgotten. When Im falling asleep its one of the two faces I see before I close my eyes. I wouldn't say it ranks up there with my family, I mean if a masked gunman told me "hand over the iPhone or your kid gets it" I wouldn't hesitate (too long) before tossing my phone over to him.
Still these gadgets are an important part of who we are today. They are woven into the fabric of our social interactions (for good or bad) and they are most likely not going anywhere, bedsides everywhere with us. So are they all that terrible in the workplace, most of that answer might depend on who you ask, but maybe not.
Kendra Clark (2014) a writer for SIOP seems to feel that the use of smart phones in the work place can aid to and improve an employees sense of well being. Go figure! Results from a very cool study found that when an employee was able to take mirco breaks"Such as texting a friend. a perceived well-being at the end of the work day.The results also show that on days when employees used smartphones more for social media use, they reported higher well-being at the end of the workday than when using their phones for entertainment or personal reasons" (Clark, 2014).
Most employers are all about a happier work force. When the working stiff is happy tasks are done and everyone is gelling. But at what cost? To play devils advocate Clark looked into that too. Research pointed to employees only spending an average of 20-25 combined minuets a day using a smart phone (Clark, 2014). Thats hardly enough to really damage workplace production. And is comparable to the smoking break a smoking employee might need.
As with EVERYTHING there needs to be limits before that inch turns to a mile. But there is a lot to be said about compromise and who knows this can open up to some wicked office wide Angry Bird competitions.
Clark, K. (2014). Let Them Tweet!. Retrieved from http://www.siop.org/article_view.aspx?article=1222#.UwUVakJdVI1
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