"If we did everything we are capable of, we would really surprise ourselves."
Thomas Edison
Digital wellness and work
In this article, we're going to focus on how to make you happier at work, whether you're at home or in the office. Small changes often lead to big results! You can tell us afterwards if these ten minutes of reading can really change your well-being at work, in a good way of course!
As you know, with the progressive arrival of new technological tools, our way of working has fundamentally changed. So, we are going to try to give you, in a minimum of time, a maximum of elements in order to reduce the digital hold on your work and optimise your potential!
Because technology brings its share of progress and allows for greater efficiency at work. Whether it be through more fluid and instantaneous communication, computing power or the ergonomics provided by computers. Many professions have progressed and have seen their profitability increase. However, well-being at work has not necessarily evolved in the right direction. As is often the case when something new is introduced, there is a period of adaptation and a duty to manage.
Indeed, with the arrival of digital technology, digital malaise at work has emerged.
What are the reasons for this digital malaise?
There are many different causes of this malaise. The first is the feeling of being overwhelmed by information. Our brain is saturated and cannot concentrate on a particular task.
Let's take our e-mails as an example. When we receive twenty to fifty e-mails a day and we discover them all in the morning when we turn on our computer, if we have not already checked them on our smartphone when we woke up. We can't take the time to read them all carefully. We miss some of the most important information because we are so caught up in the mass of information that we take in too much at once. We feel overwhelmed as soon as we arrive at the office. This causes anxiety that we could do without.
Then there's our smartphone and its notifications that distract us from the task we're paid to do. Between social media notifications, following twitter and instagram feeds, the weather pops up while we have a window in our office. But also messages from friends, family or groups hosted on different digital platforms and professional instant messaging, on topics that are not urgent. Finally, our mind is constantly diverted from its will to act, interfering with our energy. We then have to constantly refocus. Our task is chopped up, hacked, because of the various digital entertainments, a real diversion for our concentration... It is then difficult to be productive and serious in our work. The first effect is therefore a devaluation of a feeling that is nevertheless important, that of working well.
Larry Rosen and Alexandra Samuel wrote about this in the Harvard Business ReviewIn June 2015, he wrote: "This culture of constant connection has consequences, both professionally and personally. We waste time, attention and energy on unimportant information and interactions, and are busy, but producing very little value."
For those who have not read my book Being presentA study by Gloria Marks shows that just 30 seconds spent consulting Twitter means we lose 25 minutes and 30 seconds of concentration! This has serious consequences for the quality of our work. We are less efficient, so we feel guilty. We feel that we are always behind in what we are supposed to do, that we are late, and that we feel more stressed in order to achieve our goal.
Another recent study conducted by TechRepublic reveals that company employees consult digital content that is not related to their professional activity for more than 2 hours a day. We can easily imagine the cost to a company and note that this behaviour is not entirely voluntary. Here is the link to the study:
Survey: Smartphones distract employees for hours on end during the workday
The workspace should be seen as a sanctuary. Many of us are committed to our job, we want to do it well, to be useful to our company. That our salary is fully deserved. The proliferation of digital entertainment thus has a major implication for our well-being at work.
You have to be able to improve your digital well-being at work. This is the key to success.
How to enable digital well-being at work and improve performance?
Several solutions exist. One way is to organise your work in blocks, so that you can concentrate on one task at a time and see it through to the end. The aim is not to be interrupted by technology, or even by other colleagues, in order to be as efficient as possible.
When it comes to emails, it is important to sort them out! Between those that are important and urgent to deal with, and the others. In order to take the time required for the emails necessary for your work, each in turn. It's all about staying focused on one task at a time.
Computer use has become the norm. We can only advise you to reduce your screen time, using good old-fashioned paper for your notes and anything else that can avoid using your keyboard. Spending a whole day on your screen is not good for your health, between headaches and failing eyesight. Digital wellness is knowing how to do without digital when you can. Prioritise talking to a colleague face to face rather than sending a dozen emails...
By doing all this, you can start to feel a better quality in your work; less stress, more productivity. And above all the feeling of a job well done! So you can go home in the evening feeling relaxed.
Digital well-being at work is also a collective organisation.
Of course, every little step towards balancing connection and disconnection is essential to regain digital well-being at work. However, we will insist on the importance for human resources and managers to take into account the need to better organise the use of digital within companies. By putting in place rules, such as not sending emails to employees outside working hours or defining how to communicate. Opting for the loan of a professional smartphone. Allowing for better cohesion through face-to-face meetings, granting breaks, and encouraging all the same, with the help of specialised experts, to better understand the digital tool at all levels of the company.
Action!
As we have just seen, digital well-being at work is possible if we give ourselves the individual and collective means to achieve it. Just as occupational medicine appeared in the 20th century, digital well-being will become one of the new drivers of a company's competitiveness. From hard management to soft management! It is by taking care of its employees that a company can achieve new objectives and keep them in the long term, and it is also up to the employees to take their future in hand.
Adapt, take control of your concentration, attention and time to boost your performance and well-being at work! Regain optimal health...
Gabriel.
To further increase your well-being at work, we suggest this article on the benefits of sleep!
Want to improve your concentration at work or relax with music? discover this 50 minute set of music for free.