Allowing employees to use their smartphones at work can reduce stress levels

Researchers have found that bosses can reduce stress among their workforce if they allow them to use their devices in the office.

Teams from the University of Galway and the University of Melbourne carried out research at the European branch of a global pharmaceutical company - which had banned phones back in the 1990s amid fears that workers could be distracted around dangerous chemicals.

Forty employees followed the new relaxed policy on phones, and their output did not decline when the restrictions were eased.

Study leader Professor Eoin Whelan said: "Preventing phones in the workplace can increase work-life conflict, which, in turn, has significant implications for work performance, job satisfaction, absenteeism, turnover intentions, as well as general well-being.

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