How work-related communication applications affect perceived stress levels among employees

This paper examines Slack's effects on perceived stress levels among employees compared with classical work communication such as email. The study also investigates whether or not modern work platforms such as Slack affects the way people view and separate work and leisure time. As work from home increased drastically with the spread of Covid-19, simple and fast communication at work became more important than ever. Employees did not have the same possibility to meet daily at the office which created new demands on text-based communication platforms used for work purposes. The study was performed through a survey with 113 contributing respondents as well as three follow-up interviews. The study shows a difference in the respondents' approach toward Slack compared to email. Close to 11% stated that they read emails after work hours whereas 24% stated that they read Slack messages after work. Even though a slight difference can be seen between the two ways of communication, it becomes clear that it is more likely the ease-of-use and simple accessibility of modern work communication can cause stress than Slack itself. The results show that platforms such as Slack make it easier to interact with colleagues even after work hours. These results illustrate the issue of living in a time where the office is equally as remote as fixed.