Cellphone-users know when it's time to switch them off

New Zealanders may be better at not taking their work home with them, in the form of a cellphone, than Americans, who are in danger of compromising their private lives, a study suggests.

Research from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee shows that the round-the-clock availability of cellphones and pagers is taking a toll on family life.

The study, which followed more than 1300 adults over two years, found those who consistently used a mobile phone or pager throughout the study period were more likely to report negative "spillover" between work and home life and, in turn, less satisfaction with their family life.

Work life can invade home life when a parent takes job-related calls at home, or household issues start to take up work time.

A small street survey of Aucklanders yesterday indicated they were aware of the possible problems and many were determined not to let work calls interfere with their home life.

Some were careful not to hand out their phone number or just left a work cellphone turned off at the weekends.

Jenny Muir said she did not feel obliged to answer her cellphone. "I don't let it run my life. I'm not interested in being at everyone's beck and call."

Jill Kwok said her company had a policy to try not to bother people outside work.

The Herald also noted the irony in its trying to get hold of people during the weekend for comment on their cellphones.

The paper can report that many appeared to have wisely turned their phones off and were perhaps enjoying a day at the beach with their families.

But the Herald did get hold of Sharron Cole, Parents Centre national president, who said cellphones, like all technology, were a mixed blessing.

Parents were reassured that their children could reach them on their cellphones, she said, but some people seemed unable to turn their phones off, which could affect family life.

The study's author, Noelle Chesley, an assistant professor of sociology, said cellphones might be especially intrusive for working women because the spillover tended to go in both directions - being "connected" meant that work cut into home time, and family issues seeped into work life.

And people who reported more negative spillover tended to be less satisfied with their family life.

Her findings, published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, concluded that cellphones and pagers seemed to open more lines for stressful exchanges among family members rather than positive ones.

But Professor Chesley said the problem could be alleviated if employers looked at their policies on contacting employees after-hours to make sure their expectations were "reasonable".

For their part, employees could decide that cellphones and pagers go off during designated family time.