Mobile Communication Device Usage: Perceptions of Non-Supervisory Employees

The increased usage of mobile communication devices (MCDs) in the workplace has been controversial regarding whether they increase or decrease productivity, whether work-life balance is affected by use, and whether employers have the right to monitor usage. This paper includes research that addressed each of these three issues linked to employee use of MCDs. Past research provided conflicting results in three areas - work-life balance, productivity, and employee monitoring. A quantitative study of 60 non-supervisory employees in Arizona, Michigan, and Illinois, consisting of an online survey, was carried out to determine perceptions of whether use of MCDs for work purposes affects work-life balance or productivity and perceptions on employers monitoring usage of work-issued MCDs. Sixty-seven percent of respondents stated that their duties require the use of MCDs and, of those 62%, each stated that his or her MCD is a Smartphone. The majority stated that Smartphones were MCDs given to them by the employer. Other MCDs were cell phones and tablets which, combined, accounted for 35% of the responses. Fifty-three percent of the respondents stated that the use of the MCD did not impact work-life balance, eighty-eight percent stated that the use of the MCD increased productivity, and eighty-seven percent stated that their employer does not monitor usage of their MCD. Research findings may vary and depend on participants. Supervisors may have different viewpoints. However, the required use of these devices in the workplace keeps increasing, so it is appropriate for employers to clearly find a benefit for their use

Storytelling in Community Intervention Research: Lessons Learned From the Walk Your Heart to Health Intervention

BackgroundContextually and culturally congruent interventions are urgently needed to reduce racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic inequities in physical activity and cardiovascular disease.ObjectivesTo examine a community-based participatory research (CBPR) process that incorporated storytelling into a physical activity intervention, and consider implications for reducing health inequities.MethodsWe used a CBPR process to incorporate storytelling in an existing walking group intervention. Stories conveyed social support and problem-solving intervention themes designed to maintain increases in physical activity over time, and were adapted to the walking group context, group dynamics, challenges, and traditions.Lessons learnedAfter describing of the CBPR process used to adapt stories to walking group sites, we discuss challenges and lessons learned regarding the adaptation and implementation of stories to convey key intervention themes.ConclusionsA CBPR approach to incorporating storytelling to convey intervention themes offers an innovative and flexible strategy to promote health toward the elimination of health inequities