Digital health and the workplace

Digital wellbeing is often talked about in the private sphere - for instance when it comes to reducing time spent on social media platforms or turning away from Netflix binge-watching. In our last blog article, too, we discussed digital wellbeing in the private sphere. Productivity and the ability to concentrate are usually only discussed when it comes to the home office and the distraction of the smartphone.

 

But the newsfeed can be just as enticing in the office, even if social control by colleagues is perhaps more of an issue here than at home. But that's not all. Disadvantages that arise from excessive private use do not stop at the workplace. Lack of concentration due to unrestorative sleep, an increasing shortening of the attention span and a decline in creativity also have a negative impact on work performance.

 

In addition to the effects that seep into the workplace from private life, employees are also confronted with completely different problems. Especially in office jobs, there is usually no choice but to sit in front of a screen for hours on end. Restricting the amount of time spent in front of a screen, as is recommended for Instagram, for example, is not really an option in the workplace.

 

Why should employers be concerned with digital health at all?

 

But isn't this all the responsibility of the employees? To a certain extent, of course, everyone bears a certain amount of personal responsibility. Nevertheless, employers create the framework conditions within which a way of working that is conducive to digital health is possible at all. If bosses expect their teams to be productive, they cannot completely withdraw from their responsibility.

 

A focus on the digital health of employees can help to reduce exhaustion and increase productivity. Employee satisfaction is increased, and work-life balance can improve (depending on other factors). Stress caused by the omnipresence of digital media could be cushioned, although here again the individual's private behavior plays a role.

 

The digital toolbox

 

Even in the most conservative company (from a digital point of view), e-mails and simple digital file storage systems are likely to have been introduced. Many companies also use tools for more elaborate digital file management, internal communication, project planning, and, depending on the industry, possibly also for more specialized tasks. This can add up to quite a bit that needs to be kept track of and maintained for daily work. Of course, a uniform digital solution would be best, but that is not always feasible. In that case, it makes sense to think more carefully about whether new utilities fit into existing workflows or whether (and if so, how) they would have to be modified before purchasing them. If a patchwork quilt of tools cannot be avoided, it should at least be well sewn together. All employees should know what all applications are used for and be familiar with how they work. Complex file management or certain programs may not be self-evident to every (new) employee, so training can do no harm. If in doubt, a guideline for the company's digital toolkit is not a bad idea.

 

Home office

 

Since Corona, home office has increasingly become part of many people's working lives. This brings certain advantages, such as saving time and money on travel, not having to leave the house in cold, wet weather, and being able to do some quick vacuuming during the lunch break. Working at home can also have a potentially positive effect on distraction - at least if you don't have to look after children at the same time, your neighbor is a drummer, or there's renovation work going on in the house next door.

On the other hand, various factors can also make working at home more difficult. For example, because personal contact with colleagues is lacking, clarifying certain matters online can simply be more tedious, or an overload of video conferences robs you of energy (more about video conferences in the third part of the series). Another problem in the home office can be an uneven distribution of workload. In the office, this is usually noticed relatively quickly. However, to prevent some from feeling underworked and others overworked in the home office, it is important to stay in touch with co-workers. Over-communication and excessive coordination of the smallest details, on the other hand, can be perceived as overly controlling and should be avoided.

Some people also simply find it harder to get into work mode in the comfort of their own home. Here, it can help to work in a designated place as much as possible and to resist the temptation to stay in sweatpants all day, but to really get ready. These are things where the employer can't do more than create stimulus. That being said, another major stressor in the home office, in addition to various technical problems, is likely to be for many anyway:

 

Permanent accessibility and concentration

 

Leads not only to high screen time, but also mental stress: the pressure to be constantly available. As practical as e-mails and team communication tools may be, they can also be a burden. Because as soon as technology makes it possible, the expectations of others are often not far behind. Supervisors should encourage their employees to turn off their devices at the end of work hours. This could address a problem that many face in the home office - without leaving a physical workstation, it's often difficult to turn off work mode and 'call it a day' in the mind as well. As nice as it may seem at first glance to have employees continue after the target time - the seemingly infinitely extendable workday could, in practice, tend to lead to less focused and concentrated work during actual working hours.

 

In the same way, interruptions such as notifications from colleagues can disrupt the workflow. This is because the brain needs at least five minutes after each interruption to regain concentration on the actual task. The so-called saw blade effect causes the actual length of the interruptions and the restart times to accumulate, which in total leads to significantly more time lost. (You can read more about interruption-free work here).

 

However, cognitively demanding tasks in particular require phases of intense concentration. Employees should be encouraged to check and respect the status of their colleagues in team working tools. Microsoft Teams, for example, allows people to set themselves to 'do not disturb.' This allows a challenging task to receive the attention it needs. In general, good etiquette includes avoiding non-essential communication as much as possible and only involving those people for whom the notification is relevant.

At the same time, of course, communication among each other is essential, especially in a spatially dispersed team. Here it is important to find a compromise that everyone can come to terms with. In order to maintain the balance between information flow and concentration, you can therefore jointly define notification-free times that you want to devote to highly concentrated work.

 

Breaks for the brain and eyes

 

Breaks are important to avoid mental fatigue and to restore concentration after phases of focused work. However, so-called micro-breaks, i.e. very short breaks taken at short intervals, have the opposite effect, especially if they are used to look at the cell phone, for example. They interrupt work, but do nothing to regenerate concentration. What is intended as a brief pick-me-up therefore often ends in increased tiredness and lack of concentration.

The tendency to mental digression and (involuntary) micro-breaks increases with mental exhaustion. For reasons of productivity and well-being, it is therefore advisable to take regular breaks before fatigue becomes noticeable.

 

In addition to the brain, the eyes also need a break. The effects of blue light on the feeling of tiredness, which were discussed in the last article, should not be a problem during the day. Nevertheless, working at a computer screen for hours on end can be very strenuous on the eyes and lead to irritation, tired eyes and sometimes even headaches - another reason to hold face-to-face meetings and set up unplugged time whenever possible. If there's no other choice but the digital sphere, the 20-20-20 rule may help: looking at an object about 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes helps relax the eyes and keep the number of blinks within a healthy range. (Prolonged screen staring, in fact, causes us to blink less often and makes our eyes too dry).

 

Conclusion

 

Digital wellbeing is not just a trendy buzzword, but a relevant topic for most people these days. Especially those who work in an office spend many hours in front of a screen every week. There are a few tips that every employee can follow. But where work structures restrict freedom of action, the responsibility cannot lie solely with the individual. It is also up to managers to create an environment in which digital work is as pleasant as possible.

Online meetings play(ed) an important role here, especially but not only in Corona times. But some people have more problems with a zoom call than others. The third and final part of this series will therefore revolve around the so-called 'zoom fatigue'.