Over the past 18 months, there has been much debate surrounding the use of technology, remote working, employee productivity and burnout. Many employers were forced to adapt and adopt new means of technology to keep businesses afloat whilst retaining employee cohesion.

Technology has played an even bigger role in our personal lives as we sought to stay connected with loved ones. All this emphasis and time with our numerous devices may have provoked an unhealthy relationship with technology.

If we wish for our employees to remain productive in the workplace, we need to help them build a healthy relationship with the technology they use every day. As employers, we must set an example and show our colleagues that it is OK to switch off from our devices. This will allow employees to access all the benefits of technology with minimal stress.

If individuals within your team are starting to feel the detrimental effects of technology overload, see some of our useful tips below to help:

Establish workplace policies

Set guidelines for the acceptable use of devices including laptops, desktops, and mobile phones. Like these devices, employees should not expect to be ‘on’ all the time. Encourage your team to take regular breaks from their devices. You may consider frequent screen break timings or setting prompts on devices to encourage time away from the screen. When, and if it is safe and possible to do so, meet with your teams in person rather than on conferencing software. This will be a huge morale booster for all involved.

Effective communication

Effective communication between managers and teams will prevent work from bleeding into personal lives. This includes limiting work-related communications to work hours. Those businesses who work internationally or in varying time zones need to set clear boundaries with some degree of flexibility for communications whilst out of hours.

Lead by example

Be the advocate for the company culture you are promoting and lead by example. Do not insist on emailing and messaging employees out of working hours unless it is business critical. Encourage your teams to switch off when out of hours.

Build the culture together

Give employees a voice and the chance to help shape the company’s culture and join the company on its journey to help alleviate technology overload within their jobs. This includes new tools and initiatives that will better service the business and its employees, increasing productivity and overall well-being.

Working environments

Cognitive and behavioural sciences are finding that tweaks to our working environments can help fight technology overload. Better workplace designs are easily implemented to help. It may be that multiple environments are created to encourage specific types or work, such as quiet rooms for focus, collaboration areas for team building and multi-person projects, and natural elements such as good lighting or a garden space for better access to the outdoors.

Technology at home

As part of a good well-being strategy, you may wish to encourage employees to follow some simple steps at home to further minimise ‘tech-stress’:

Encourage employees to not use technology for a period during their evenings. Task employees with learning a new skill within that time instead, or simply use that time to read a book or exercise.

Here’s a great example from Deloitte:

On Monday, unsubscribe from all unwanted emails and unfollow anyone you don’t know on social media.

On Tuesday, turn off push notifications and relocate any apps you haven’t used in the past month into one folder.

On Wednesday, buy an alarm clock to replace the clock on your phone. At night, charge your phone somewhere besides your bedroom.

On Thursday, don’t look at your phone until you get to work.

On Friday, keep your phone on silent and out of sight during breakfast, lunch and dinner.

On Saturday, stay off social media for the entire day.

On Sunday, turn off your phone and/or take off your smartwatch for at least eight hours.

***

It is important for us all to be able to switch off from our devices from time to time.

If you would like to discuss how to implement some of the above initiatives within your organisation, contact our friendly and professional team for more advice.

Lisa and the team – 01625 428926 | enquiries@sitrusconsulting.com