In this day and age, it seems like there’s no escaping technology. Whether you’re taking public transportation to work or simply walking down the street, you’re bound to encounter someone glued to their smartphone screen. This reality has become so prevalent that we now use the phrase digital natives to describe the generation of people born after 2000 who have never known a world without smart devices and the internet at their fingertips. It may seem like we’ve entered an era of digital utopia, but what happens when you look beyond your own experiences?
Why digital wellness is important
As you make use of your computer and digital devices each day, it’s easy to let your time online become habitual. The more we interact with our digital products and services, though, the more ingrained their functions become in our routines—and that can have significant repercussions. If you find yourself feeling distracted or concerned about how much time you spend online, there are a few ways to help restore a healthy balance. Having good habits and rituals is a crucial part of keeping up a healthy lifestyle, so it’s just as important when it comes to your digital activities too.
How to ensure digital wellbeing
The first step to ensuring digital wellbeing is to be aware of how much time you’re spending on your phone. You can do that by downloading an app like Moment, which tracks how much time you spend on each app and website. You can set a daily limit for yourself, and if you go over it, Moment will send you a notification telling you that it’s time to put down your phone. That way, if you find yourself on Instagram or Facebook when you should be working, or watching YouTube videos when you should be reading a book, at least there’s a gentle reminder that it’s time to move on.
What can an employer do?
From a purely business perspective, employers should really care about how their employees feel. Stress and anxiety in particular can have a huge impact on productivity, as well as employee turnover. That’s why businesses are starting to pay more attention to digital wellbeing than ever before—and if you haven’t considered what actions you can take yet, now is probably a good time to start. One option is to use one or more of Google’s Digital Wellbeing tools, which allow users to limit screen time on specific apps and track usage over time.
How employees can achieve digital well-being?
Some organizations may already have a wellness program in place for employees. But, when it comes to digital wellness, its importance is often overlooked. However, what organizations don’t realize is that they are indirectly putting a burden on their employees with all of these demands being placed on them. Why? Because too much demand leaves employees feeling overworked and stressed.
And research shows that stress can have negative effects on productivity, health and safety. So here are 3 ways that can you help your employees achieve digital well-being.
The first thing you can do is to establish digital wellness policies.
These policies should be designed with your employees in mind. This way, they’ll feel that they have more control over their digital usage at work and will hopefully participate more in them.
Second way is to educate your employees on digital well-being.
This can be done through workshops, presentations or even one-on-one meetings. The goal here is to help them understand what digital well-being means and how it can benefit them personally and professionally.
Third way is to create a culture of digital well-being.
This means that you need to set an example for your employees by participating in your own digital wellness policies.
Final words
Digital well-being is my new personal mantra, says Tynan. We can no longer expect ourselves to work harder and smarter, trying to do more in less time. Our bodies and minds are not built for that kind of abuse. In other words, if you find yourself feeling regularly overwhelmed by your digital commitments, it might be a sign that you need to spend more time on other areas of your life—whether it’s exercise or family.
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