Turning off work apps during time off reduces clinician burnout, study finds

Clinicians who uninstalled work apps from their phones during time off experienced significantly lower stress compared with those who did not, a study found. Published in the Journal of Medical Systems, the researchers enrolled more than 800 clinicians, including nurses. Before a scheduled weekend off, half the clinicians received counseling to turn on automatic responses to email so they were not responding manually, reduce overall screen time or delete work apps from their personal smartphones, while the rest received no counseling. Participants who received counseling experienced double the reduction in reported stress and had a one-hour reduction in overall screen time. The authors plan to design institutional interventions facilitating disengagement from work during leisure time to see if participants reduce stress and have higher engagement and productivity at work. (University of Michigan news release, 1/19/26)