Many of us have (unfortunately) been there: You’re encouraged to take time off from work, but when you do, your boss looks down on you for not going the extra mile.
It’s called “the detachment paradox,” and it’s the enemy of work-life balance.
Live to work
University of Southern California researchers recently presented nearly 8k participants with hypothetical scenarios designed to gauge an employee’s commitment to their job, per Axios:
- The scenarios involved workers going away for the weekend, with or without access to their work email, and leaving for “virtuous reasons” like caring for a sick relative.
- The participants generally agreed that workers taking time off would be more productive when they returned.
- Plus, estimates cited in the study show work-related burnout costs employers up to $190B annually in health care costs.
So it’s good for literally everyone when workers take time off!
And yet…
Those same participants consistently determined that the workers taking time off deserved fewer promotions, which gives us the “detachment paradox.”
- The workers were perceived as having a “psychological detachment” from their work, even when it didn’t impact their actual productivity.
- And we’re not just talking about refusing to answer work emails while at home; we’re talking about refusing to think about work while at home,
What do we do?
The researchers suggest having managers evaluate workers based on their actual performance, which makes a lot of sense.
- Also: Maybe don’t message your employees when they’re not at work.
Of course, Axios notes that the study didn’t look at the pressure that managers might be under, which we’re all obviously deeply concerned about… right?
Source – https://thehustle.co/news/good-work-life-balance-might-be-hurting-your-hopes-for-that-promotion