Research has shown that work-life balance is not only about job satisfaction and performance. It is also related to a good occupational balance. In this way, a balanced working pattern can improve health. The impact of smartphones, which have become ubiquitous in contemporary society, on this balance is a topic of ongoing debate.
Objective:
This study aims to investigate the relationship between time use, smartphone use, occupational balance, and occupational self-competence among working young people and university students. The findings of this study may contribute to the development of effective strategies to improve the work-life balance of young people who are either working or about to start their working life.
Methods:
The study involved 158 healthy young adults. The research instruments used included a socio-demographic information form, the Modified Occupational Questionnaire, the Occupational Self-Assessment, and the Turkish Occupational Balance Questionnaire. The results were then analyzed using SPSS 24.0.
Results:
A significant relationship was found between the time allocated to sleep and occupational balance (p = 0.009), as well as between the time allocated to work and productive activities and occupational self-competence (p = 0.010). Furthermore, a statistically significant relationship was found between the duration of smartphone usage and occupational balance (p = 0.04).
Conclusion:
The study emphasizes occupational balance as an important concept for identifying and addressing time use problems among young workers and university students. The study suggests that achieving work-life balance requires consideration of the positive effects of time allocated sleep and the negative effects of smartphone use.
MeijmanTFMulderG. Psychological aspects of workload. In: Handbook of work and organizational psychology. 2nd ed. Taylor & Francis: Psychology Press, 2013, pp. 5–33.
2.
SonnentagS. Work, recovery activities, and individual well-being: a diary study. J Occup Health Psychol2001; 6: 196.
3.
CaproniPJ. Work/life balance: you can’t get there from here. J Appl Behav Sci2004; 40: 208–218.
4.
RenersR. The effect of compensation, career development, and work-life balance on employee loyalty with job satisfaction as an intervening variable. J Indones Sos Teknol2024; 5: 860–868.
5.
MalikMIGomezSFAhmadM,et al.Examining the relationship of work life balance, job satisfaction and turnover in Pakistan. OIDA Int J Sustain Dev2010; 2: 27–33.
6.
AssyahidahN. The role of job satisfaction as mediation on the influence of work life balance and training on job performance. Asian J Econ Bus Account2024; 24: 92–106.
7.
HåkanssonCMileviSEekF, et al.Occupational balance, work and life satisfaction in working cohabiting parents in Sweden. Scand J Public Health2019; 47: 366–374.
8.
AntaiDOkeABraithwaiteP,et al.A ‘balanced’ life: work-life balance and sickness absence in four Nordic countries. Int J Occup Environ Med2015; 6: 205–213.
9.
WagmanPHåkanssonCBjörklundA. Occupational balance as used in occupational therapy: a concept analysis. Scand J Occup Ther2012; 19: 322–327.
10.
AtlerK. An argument for a dynamic interrelated view of occupational experience. J Occup Sci2015; 22: 249–259.
11.
EakmanAM. A subjectively-based definition of life balance using personal meaning in occupation. J Occup Sci2016; 23: 108–127.
12.
MeyerA. The philosophy of occupation therapy. Am J Occup Ther1977; 31: 639–642.
13.
KielhofnerG. Conceptual foundations of occupational therapy practice. Philadelphia: FA Davis, 2009.
14.
TemizkanEDavutoğluCAranOT,et al.Effects of vocational rehabilitation group intervention on motivation and occupational self-awareness in individuals with intellectual disabilities: a single blind, randomised control study. J Appl Res Intellect Disabil2022; 35: 196–204.
15.
ReeceKTDavisJAPolatajkoHJ. The representations of work-life balance in Canadian newspapers. Work2009; 32: 431–442.
16.
YamanHBilselBA. Investigation of the occupational role balance of young adults. In: 2nd Bilsel International Ahlat Scientific Researches Congress, Bitlis, Turkey, 9-10 December.
17.
ChaY. Life satisfaction analysis of occupational balance group: based on korean time use survey data (kostat) of older adults. 2019. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.2.15398/v1.
ShagvaliyevaSYazdanifardR. Impact of flexible working hours on work-life balance. Am J Ind Bus Manag2014; 4: 20–23.
22.
MagnussonLHåkanssonCBrandtS, et al.Occupational balance and sleep among women. Scand J Occup Ther2021; 28: 643–651.
23.
PawłowiczESkrzypczykPStańczykM, et al.Burnout syndrome among pediatric nephrologists—report on its prevalence, severity, and predisposing factors. Medicina2022; 58: 446.
24.
KoMC. The structural relationship of family-friendly policies, work-life balance, and employee subjective wellbeing: focusing on the categorization of family-friendly policies based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. Rev Public Pers Adm2022; 44: 377–409.
25.
HåkanssonCDahlin-IvanoffSSonnU. Achieving balance in everyday life. J Occup Sci2006; 13: 74–82.
26.
1Chatrakul Na AyudhyaULewisS. From ‘Balancers’ to ‘integrators’? Young Professionals’ talk about ‘work’ and the rest of ‘life’ in the UK. In: Creating balance?Berlin: Springer, 2010, pp. 47–63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-16199-5_3
SturgesJGuestD. Working to live or living to work? Work/life balance early in the career. Hum Resour Manag J2004; 14: 5–20.
29.
GlesneC. Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson, 2016.
30.
SetiaMS. Methodology series module 5: sampling strategies. Indian J Dermatol2016; 61: 505–509.
31.
KielhofnerG. Model of human occupation: Theory and application. 4th ed. Madrid: Editorial Medica Panamericana, 2011.
32.
PekçetinSSalarSİnalÖ,et al.Validity of the turkish occupational self assessment for elderly individuals. OTJR (Thorofare N J)2017; 38: 105–112.
33.
ScanlanJNBundyAC. Development and validation of the modified occupational questionnaire. Am J Occup Ther2011; 65(1): 11–19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2011.09042
34.
AminiDAKannenbergKBodisonS, et al.Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain & process (3rd ed.). Am J Occup Ther2014; 68: 1–87.
35.
Yavuz TatlıİSemin AkelB. A controlled study analyzing the temporal activity patterns of individuals with stroke compared to healthy adults. Br J Occup Ther2019; 82: 288–295.
36.
GünalAPekçetinSDemirtürkF, et al.Validity and reliability of the Turkish occupational balance questionnaire (OBQ11-T). Scand J Occup Ther2020; 27: 493–499.
37.
GhiasvandAMNaderiMTafreshiMZ, et al.Relationship between time management skills and anxiety and academic motivation of nursing students in Tehran. Proc - Soc Behav Sci2017; 2: 369–373.
38.
HoECDürMStammT,et al.Measuring the occupational balance of people with insomnia in a Chinese population: Preliminary psychometric evidence on the Chinese version of the Occupational Balance Questionnaire. Hong Kong J Occup Ther2020; 3: 33–41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1569186120944534
39.
MastinDFBrysonJCorwynR. Assessment of sleep hygiene using the sleep hygiene Index. J Behav Med2006; 29: 223–227.
40.
PatersonJLReynoldsACDuncanM, et al.Barriers and enablers to modifying sleep behavior in adolescents and young adults: a qualitative investigation. Behav Sleep Med2019; 17: 1–11.
41.
LaiJMaSWangY, et al.Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA Netw Open2020; 3: 1–12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976
42.
KuoY-LHuangT-H. The impacts of increasing leisure time on subjective health and life satisfaction. Int J Happiness Dev2020; 6: 26–40.
43.
KaraFMGürbüzBÖncüE. Work hard, play hard: leisure satisfaction and work engagement among Turkish women. J Happiness Stud2019; 20: 177–185.
44.
BohleP. Work-life conflict in flexible work: precariousness, variable hours and related forms of work organization. In: Iskra-GolecIBarnes-FarrellJBohleP (eds) Social and family issues in shift work and non-standard working hours. Cham: Springer, 2016, pp. 91–105. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42286-2_5
45.
HillMRGoicocheaSMerloLJ. In their own words: stressors facing medical students in the millennial generation. Med Educ Online2018; 23: 1530558.
46.
Van der MeerJJansenETorenbeekM. It’s almost a mindset that teachers need to change: first-year students’ need to be inducted into time management. Stud High Educ2010; 35: 777–791.
