Media release

From: The Royal Society

Fatigue, boredom, and objectively-measured smartphone use at work

Royal Society Open Science

Nowadays, many people take short breaks with their smartphone at work. In this research, Dora and colleagues explored the relationship between feelings of fatigue/boredom and smartphone use. The study showed that people were more likely to take a smartphone break following higher reports of fatigue and boredom, but did not use it for a longer amount of time. Contrary to expectations, participants did not report decreased fatigue and boredom after using the smartphone (more). While this study does not establish causality, the results suggest two things: 1) fatigue and boredom can be understood as markers of work motivation; 2) people may not benefit from short smartphone breaks when feeling fatigued or bored.