Project description
The mental health side of after-hour connectivity
Information and communications technologies like 4G and the Internet of things (IoT) play an ever-increasing role in our daily lives. The social distancing measures imposed to address the COVID-19 pandemic served to increase the time people spent in front of their screens. A better understanding of their mental health effects is essential. In this context, the EU-funded BIMH project will conduct a deep study of the complexity of links between IoT usage at work and mental health disorders present in employees. The project will study the impact of diffusion of high-speed Internet on mental health-related disability insurance claims in Belgium from 1995 to 2012. The findings are expected to provide a unique viewpoint into the condition of workers and their mental health.
Objective
What is the effect of work-related ICT use outside work hours on mental health? The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing challenges posed by the ever-increasing interactions between constant internet connectivity, work-life balance more generally and mental health specifically. While the situation over the last few months stems from a unique crisis, it can be contextualized within recent and broader trends that evidence an increase in diagnosed and reported mental health conditions amongst recipients of disability insurance in many OECD countries.
Bearing this exceptional reality in mind alongside broader trends that encourage more work outside the conventional office, this project aims to study the complex links between connectivity to work during non-work time and employee mental health disorders.
I study the impact of diffusion of high-speed Internet on mental health-related disability insurance claims in Belgium from 1995 to 2012. My empirical strategy exploits Belgian cross-municipality variation in supply-side constraints to high-speed Internet access based on the pre-existing telephone infrastructure in Belgium. I combine administrative data from the Belgian Crossroads Bank for Social Security (CBSS), a rich set of individual-level microdata, with unique telecommunication data from the Belgian Institute for Postal Services and Telecommunications (BIPT) that document roll-out of ADSL technology across roughly 580 Belgian municipalities.
By focusing on the usage of work-related ICT use after traditional work hours and linking that usage to mental well-being, this project offers innovative explanations to the existing economic, management and public policy-oriented literature on disability. More specifically, this project contributes to the understanding of recent trends that fundamentally impact the expansion and costs of both regional and national disability insurance programs.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences internet internet access
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- social sciences economics and business economics health economics
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.