The mental health and well-being of employees is an increasingly important issue, both in terms of the financial costs to the Australian economy and human costs to society. This review examines two major technology-driven trends in the workplace and presents evidence for their impact on mental health, both positive and negative. First, we consider how we work, with a focus on changes which have been driven by automation and advanced technology in the workplace. Next, we consider where and when we work, with a focus on flexible work arrangements afforded by changes in telecommunication technology. Finally, we look forward with a critical lens to examine the implications for future research and for industry, government and education.
AllenTDShockleyK (2009) Flexible work arrangements: Help or hype? In: CraneRHillJ (eds) Handbook of Families and Work: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, pp. 265–284.
Australian Telework Advisory Committee (2006) Telework for Australian employees and businesses maximising the economic and social benefits of flexible working practices. Report of the Australian Telework Advisory Committee to the Australian Government, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
7.
BainesSGelderU (2003) What is family friendly about the workplace in the home? The case of self-employed parents and their children. New Technology, Work and Employment18: 223–234.
8.
BarberLKJenkinsJS (2014) Creating technological boundaries to protect bedtime: Examining work-home boundary management, psychological detachment and sleep. Stress and Health30: 259–264.
9.
BarleySRMeyersonDEGrodalS (2011) Email as a source and symbol of stress. Organization Science22: 887–906.
10.
BauerMSDamschroderLHagedornH, et al. (2015) An introduction to implementation science for the non-specialist. BMC Psychology3: 32.
11.
BelangerFAllportCD (2008) Collaborative technologies in knowledge telework: An exploratory study. Information Systems Journal18: 101–121.
12.
BentleyTATeoSTTMcLeodL, et al. (2016) The role of organisational support in teleworker wellbeing: A socio-technical systems approach. Applied Ergonomics52: 207–215.
13.
BlackDC (2008) Working for a Healthier Tomorrow. London: Cross-Government Health, Work and Well-being Programme.
14.
BloomNLiangJRobertsJ, et al. (2015) Does working from home work? Evidence from a Chinese experiment. The Quarterly Journal of Economics130: 165–218.
15.
BroughamDHaarJ (2018) Smart Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and Algorithms (STARA): Employees’ perceptions of our future workplace. Journal of Management & Organization24: 239–257.
16.
ButterworthPLeachLSStrazdinsL, et al. (2011) The psychosocial quality of work determines whether employment has benefits for mental health: Results from a longitudinal national household panel survey. Occupational and Environmental Medicine68: 806–812.
17.
ButtsMMBeckerWJBoswellWR (2015) Hot buttons and time sinks: The effects of electronic communication during nonwork time on emotions and work–nonwork conflict. Academy of Management Journal58: 763–788.
18.
CacioppoJTHawkleyLCCrawfordLE, et al. (2002) Loneliness and health: Potential mechanisms. Psychosomatic Medicine64: 407–417.
19.
CampioneW (2008) Employed women’s well-being: The global and daily impact of work. Journal of Family and Economic Issues29: 346–361.
20.
CarolanSHarrisPRCavanaghK (2017) Improving employee well-being and effectiveness: Systematic review and meta-analysis of web-based psychological interventions delivered in the workplace. Journal of Medical Internet Research19: e271.
ChapmanAJSheehyNPHeywoodS, et al. (1995) The organizational implications of teleworking. In: CooperCLRobertsonIT (eds) International Review of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. New York: Wiley, pp. 229–248.
23.
ChesleyN (2014) Information and communication technology use, work intensification and employee strain and distress. Work, Employment & Society28: 589–610.
24.
ChisholmDSweenyKSheehanP, et al. (2016) Scaling-up treatment of depression and anxiety: A global return on investment analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry3: 415–424.
25.
ClaussenBBjørndalAHjortPF (1993) Health and re-employment in a two year follow up of long term unemployed. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health47: 14–18.
26.
Colmar Brunton Research and Deloitte Access Economics for the Commonwealth of Australia (2013) NBN enabled telework: The economic and social impact on labour force participation. Report for Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy. Available at: https://www.nintione.com.au/?p=2843 (accessed March 2019).
27.
Comcare (2013) Comcare’s guide to remote or isolated work. Report prepared for Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
DanielsKGuppyA (1994) Occupational stress, social support, job control, and psychological well-being. Human Relations47: 1523–1544.
30.
de LangeAHTarisTWKompierMA, et al. (2003) ‘The very best of the millennium’: Longitudinal research and the demand-control-(support) model. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology8: 282–305.
DeryKHafermalzE (2016) Seeing is belonging: Remote working, identity and staying connected. In: LeeJ (ed.) The Impact of ICT on Work. Singapore: Springer, pp. 109–126.
33.
DesrosiersEI (2001) Telework and work attitudes: The relationship between telecommuting and employee job satisfaction, organizational commitment, perceived organizational support and perceived co-worker support. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.
34.
DonnellyDLewisC (2017) Mentally healthy workplaces in NSW: Benchmarking tool. Report prepared for SafeWork NSW, Lisarow, NSW, Australia.
35.
DuncanMJVandelanotteCCaperchioneC, et al. (2012) Temporal trends in and relationships between screen time, physical activity, overweight and obesity. BMC Public Health12: 1060.
36.
DuxburyLNeufeldD (1999) An empirical evaluation of the impacts of telecommuting on intra-organizational communication. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management16: 1–28.
37.
DuxburyLHigginsCNeufeldD (1998) Telework and the balance between work and family: Is telework part of the problem or part of the solution? In: IgbariaMTanM (eds) The Virtual Workplace. Hershey, PA: Idea Group, pp. 218–255.
38.
EganMBambraCThomasS, et al. (2007) The psychosocial and health effects of workplace reorganisation. 1. A systematic review of organisational-level interventions that aim to increase employee control. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health61: 945–954.
39.
ElsbachKD (2003) Relating physical environment to self-categorizations: Identity threat and affirmation in a non-territorial office space. Administrative Science Quarterly48: 622–654.
40.
FiskADRogersWACharnessN, et al. (2009) Designing for Older Adults: Principles and Creative Human Factors Approaches. 2nd ed.Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
41.
FordESCaspersenCJ (2012) Sedentary behaviour and cardiovascular disease: A review of prospective studies. International Journal of Epidemiology41: 1338–1353.
FrankMRAutorDBessenJE, et al. (2019) Toward understanding the impact of artificial intelligence on labor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences116: 6531–6539.
44.
FrolickMNWilkesRBUrwilerR (1993) Telecommuting as a workplace alternative: An identification of significant factors in American firms’ determination of work-at-home policies. The Journal of Strategic Information Systems2: 206–220.
45.
GajendranRSHarrisonDA (2007) The good, the bad, and the unknown about telecommuting: Meta-analysis of psychological mediators and individual consequences. Journal of Applied Psychology92: 1524–1541.
46.
GärtnerFRNieuwenhuijsenKKetelaarSM, et al. (2013) The mental vitality@ work study: Effectiveness of a mental module for workers’ health surveillance for nurses and allied health care professionals on their help-seeking behavior. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine55: 1219–1229.
47.
GayedALaMontagneADMilnerA, et al. (2019) A cluster randomized controlled trial to evaluate HeadCoach: An online mental health training program for workplace managers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine61: 545–551.
48.
GeurtsSAESonnentagS (2006) Recovery as an explanatory mechanism in the relation between acute stress reactions and chronic health impairment. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health32: 482–492.
49.
GlavinPSchievmanS (2012) Work–family role blurring and work–family conflict: The moderating influence of job resources and job demands. Work and Occupations39: 71–98.
GoldenTD (2006) The role of relationships in understanding telecommuter satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Behavior27: 319–340.
52.
GoldmanMLBernsteinCASummersRF (2018) Potential risks and benefits of mental health screening of physicians. Journal of American Medical Association320: 2527–2528.
53.
GoodwinREGrothMFrenkelSJ (2011) Relationships between emotional labor, job performance, and turnover. Journal of Vocational Behavior79: 538–548.
54.
GrantAMFriedYParkerSK, et al. (2010) Putting job design in context: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Organizational Behavior31: 145–157.
55.
GrantCWallaceLSpurgeonP (2013) An exploration of the psychological factors affecting remote e-worker’s job effectiveness, well-being and work-life balance. Employee Relations35: 527–546.
56.
GreenhausJHBeutellNJ (1985) Sources of conflict between work and family roles. Academy of Management Review10: 77–88.
57.
GreerTWPayneSC (2014) Overcoming telework challenges: Outcomes of successful telework strategies. The Psychologist-manager Journal17: 87–111.
58.
GrothMGrandeyA (2012) From bad to worse: Negative exchange spirals in employee -customer service interactions. Organizational Psychology Review2: 208–233.
59.
GrothMWuYNguyenH, et al. (2019) The moment of truth: A review, synthesis, and research agenda for the customer service experience. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior6: 89–113.
60.
HackmanJROldhamGR (1976) Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance16: 250–279.
61.
HackmanJROldhamGR (1980) Work Redesign. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
62.
HartigTKylinCJohanssonG (2007) The telework tradeoff: Stress mitigation vs constrained restoration. Applied Psychology: An International Review56: 231–253.
63.
HarveySBDeadyMWangMJ, et al. (2017) Is the prevalence of mental illness increasing in Australia? Evidence from national health surveys and administrative data, 2001–2014. Medical Journal of Australia206: 490–493.
64.
HarveySBHendersonMLelliottP, et al. (2009) Mental health and employment: Much work still to be done. British Journal of Psychiatry194: 201–203.
65.
HarveySBJoyceSTanL, et al. (2014) Developing a Mentally Healthy Workplace: A Review of the Literature. Sydney, NSW, Australia: National Mental Health Commission, pp. 1–73.
66.
HarveySBModiniMJoyceS, et al. (2017) Can work make you mentally ill? A systematic meta-review of work-related risk factors for common mental health problems. Occupational Environmental Medicine74: 301–310.
67.
HeaphyEDDuttonJE (2008) Positive social interactions and the human body at work: Linking organizations and physiology. Academy of Management Review33: 137–162.
68.
HitlanRTClifftonRJDeSotoMC (2006) Perceived exclusion in the workplace: The moderating effects of gender on work-related attitudes and psychological health. North American Journal of Psychology8: 217–236.
69.
HortonJCameronADevarajD, et al. (2018) Workplace Safety Futures: The Impact of Emerging Technologies and Platforms on Work Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation Over the Next 20 Years. Canberra, ACT, Australia: CSIRO.
70.
HuwsUPodroSGunnarsson WeijersT, et al. (1997) Teleworking: Guidelines for good practice. IES Report 329. Brighton: The Institute for Employment Studies.
JohnsonAMJacksonPR (2012) Golden parachutes: Changing the experience of unemployment for managers. Journal of Vocational Behavior80: 474–485.
73.
JoyceKPabayoRCritchleyJA, et al. (2010) Flexible working conditions and their effects on employee health and wellbeing. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews2: CD008009.
74.
JoyceSModiniMChristensenH, et al. (2016) Workplace interventions for common mental disorders: A systematic meta-review. Psychological Medicine46: 683–697.
75.
JoyceSTanLShandF, et al. (2019) Can resilience be measured and used to predict mental health symptomology among first responders exposed to repeated trauma?Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine61: 285–292.
76.
KarasekRATheorellT (1990) Healthy Work: Stress, Productivity and the Reconstruction of Working Life. New York: Basic Books.
77.
KirchmeyerC (1995) Managing the work-nonwork boundary: An assessment of organizational responses. Human Relations48: 515–536.
78.
KonradtUHertelGSchmookR (2003) Quality of management by objectives, task-related stressors, and non-task-related stressors as predictors of stress and job satisfaction among teleworkers. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology12: 61–79.
79.
KossekEEMichelJS (2011) Flexible work schedules. In: ZedeckS (ed.) Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Building and Developing the Organization. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, pp. 535–572.
80.
LelliottPTullochSBoardmanJ, et al. (2008) Mental Health and Work. London: Cross-Government Health, Work and Well-being Programme.
81.
LindMNByrneMLWicksG, et al. (2018) The Effortless Assessment of Risk States (EARS) tool: An interpersonal approach to mobile sensing. JMIR Mental Health5: e10334.
McCloskeyDWIgbariaM (2003) Does ‘out of sight’ mean ‘out of mind’? An empirical investigation of the career advancement prospects of telecommuters. Information Resources Management Journal16: 19–34.
84.
McClureP (2018) ‘You’re Fired’, says the robot: The rise of automation in the workplace, technophobes, and fears of unemployment. Social Science Computer Review36: 139–156.
85.
MachavKCSerchandPSSerchanS (2017) Association between screen time and depression among US adults. Preventive Medicine Reports8: 67–71.
86.
MaierCLaumerSEckhardtA (2015) Information technology as daily stressor: Pinning down the causes of burnout. Journal of Business Economics85: 349–387.
87.
MakridakisS (2017) The forthcoming Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution: Its impact on society and firms. Futures90: 46–60.
88.
MancaCGrijalvoMPalaciosM, et al. (2018) Collaborative workplaces for innovation in service companies: Barriers and enablers for supporting new ways of working. Service Business12: 525–550.
89.
MannSHoldsworthL (2003) The psychological impact of teleworking: Stress, emotions and health. New Technology, Work and Employment18: 196–211.
90.
ManyikaJ (2017) A Future that Works: AI, Automation, Employment, and Productivity. McKinsey Global Institute Research, Tech. Rep.
91.
MelchiorMNiedhammerIBerkmanL, et al. (2003) Do psychosocial work factors and social relations exert independent effects on sickness absence? A six year prospective study of the GAZEL cohort. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health57: 285–2–93.
92.
MirchandaniK (2000) ‘The Best of Both Worlds’ and ‘Cutting My Own Throat’: Contradictory images of home-based work. Qualitative Sociology23: 159–182.
93.
ModiniMJoyceSMykletunA, et al. (2016) The mental health benefits of employment: Results of a systematic review. Australasian Psychiatry24: 331–336.
94.
MongePRothmanLWEisenbergEM, et al. (1985) The dynamics of organizational proximity. Management Science31: 1129–1142.
95.
MurrayWCRostisA (2007) ‘Who’s running the machine?’ A theoretical exploration of work stress and burnout of technologically tethered workers. Journal of Individual Employment Rights12: 249–263.
96.
Nahum-ShaniISmithSNSpringBJ, et al. (2017) Just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs) in mobile health: Key components and design principles for ongoing health behavior support. Annals of Behavioral Medicine52: 446–462.
97.
NardiBAWhittakerS (2002) The place of face-to-face communication in distributed work. In: HindsPKieslerS (eds) Distributed Work. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, pp. 83–110.
98.
National Mental Health Commission (2019) Monitoring Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Reform: National Report 2019. Sydney: NMHC.
99.
NetterstromBConradNBechP, et al. (2008) The relation between work-related psychosocial factors and the development of depression. Epidemiologic Reviews30: 118–132.
100.
NguyenHGrothMJohnsonA (2016) When the going gets tough, the tough keep working: Impact of emotional labor on absenteeism. Journal of Management42: 615–643.
ParkRSearcyD (2012) Job autonomy as a predictor of mental well-being: The moderating role of quality-competitive environment. Journal of Business and Psychology27: 305–316.
103.
PaulKIMoserK (2006) Incongruence as an explanation for the negative mental health effects of unemployment: Meta-analytic evidence. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology79: 595–621.
104.
PerlowL (2012) Sleeping with Your Smartphone: How to Break the 24/7 Habit and Change the Way You Work. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.
105.
PetrieKJoyceSTanL, et al. (2018) A framework to create more mentally healthy workplaces: A viewpoint. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry52: 15–23.
106.
RaghuramSWiesenfeldB (2004) Work-nonwork conflict and job stress among virtual workers. Human Resource Management43: 259–277.
107.
RhoadesLEisenbergerR (2002) Perceived organizational support: A review of the literature. Journal of Applied Psychology87: 698–714.
108.
RichardsonJ (2010) Managing flexworkers: Holding on and letting go. Journal of Management Development29: 137–147.
109.
RodriguesRAGuestD (2010) Have careers become boundaryless?Human Relations63: 1157–1175.
110.
ScanduraTALankauMJ (1997) Relationships of gender, family responsibility and flexible work hours to organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Journal of Organizational Behavior18: 377–391.
111.
SchaufeliWBBakkerABVan RhenenW (2009) How changes in job demands and resources predict burnout, work engagement, and sickness absenteeism. Journal of Organizational Behavior30: 893–917.
112.
SchweigerDMDenisiAS (1991) Communication with employees following a merger: A longitudinal field experiment. Academy of Management Journal34: 110–135.
113.
SharitJCzajaSJHernandezMA, et al. (2009) The employability of older workers as teleworkers: An appraisal of issues and an empirical study. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing19: 457–477.
114.
ShinBShengORLHigaK (2000) Telework: Existing research and future directions. Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce10: 85–101.
115.
SpreitzerGMCameronLGarrettL (2017) Alternative work arrangements: Two images of the new world of work. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior4: 473–499.
116.
StandenP (2000) The home/work interface. In: DanielsKLamondDAStandenP (eds) Managing Telework: Perspectives from Human Resource Management and Work Psychology. London: Business Press, pp. 83–92.
117.
StrattonELampitAChoiI, et al. (2017) Effectiveness of eHealth interventions for reducing mental health conditions in employees: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS ONE12: e0189904.
118.
SuNMMarkG (2008) Communications chains and multitasking. Paper presented at the proceedings of the twenty-sixth annual SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI ‘08), Florence, 5–10 April, pp. 83–92. New York: ACM.
119.
SullivanC (2003) What’s in a name? Definitions and conceptualizations of teleworking and work at home. New Technology, Work and Employment18: 158–165.
120.
TaskinLBridouxF (2003) Telework: A challenge to knowledge transfer in organizations. The International Journal of Human Resource Management21: 2503–2520.
121.
ThompsonCAProttasDJ (2006) Relationships among organizational family support, job autonomy, perceived control, and employee well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology11: 100–118.
122.
ToriiKO’ConnellM (2017) Preparing Young People for the Future of Work. Mitchell Institute Policy Paper No. 01/2017. Mitchell Institute, Melbourne. Available from: “http://www.mitchellinstitute.org.au” www.mitchellinstitute.org.au (accessed 14 May 2020).
123.
TsutsumiANagamiMYoshikawaT, et al. (2009) Participatory intervention for workplace improvements on mental health and job performance among blue-collar workers: A cluster randomized controlled trial. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine51: 554–563.
124.
VieitezJCCarcíaADLTRodríguezMTV (2001) Perception of job security in a process of technological change: Its influence on psychological well-being. Behaviour & Information Technology20: 213–223.
WangMLiaoHZhanY, et al. (2011) Daily customer mistreatment and employee sabotage against customers: Examining emotion and resource perspectives. Academy of Management Journal54: 312–334.
127.
WatersCNLingEPChuAH, et al. (2016) Assessing and understanding sedentary behaviour in office-based working adults: A mixed-method approach. BMC Public Health16: 360.
128.
WestCPDyrbyeLNErwinPJ, et al. (2016) Interventions to prevent and reduce physician burnout: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet388: 2272–2281.
129.
WhitefordHADegenhardtLRehmJ, et al. (2013) Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. The Lancet382: 1575–1586.
130.
WilmotEGEdwardsonCLAchanaFA, et al. (2012) Sedentary time in adults and the association with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and death: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetologia55: 2895–2905.
World Economic Forum (2016) The future of jobs employment, skills and workforce strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Global Challenge Insight Report, World Economic Forum, Geneva.
133.
World Health Organization (2007) What Is Mental Health?Geneva: World Health Organization.
134.
WuLYimFKwanH, et al. (2012) Coping with workplace ostracism: The roles of ingratiation and political skill in employee psychological distress. Journal of Management Studies49: 178–199.
135.
YangYShinJCLiD, et al. (2017) Sedentary behavior and sleep problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine24: 481–492.
136.
ZagamiJBocconiSStarkeyL, et al. (2018) Creating future ready information technology policy for national education systems. Technology, Knowledge and Learning23: 495–506.
