Susana is a veteran journalist, skilled in digital tools. Until recently, she was interested in technology. But she has been left unemployed and the job search platforms make so many requests and notifications that she can’t take it anymore: “Now I hate technology,” she says. Pablo is a young engineer whose hyperconnection has led him to depend on screens at every step he takes, professionally and personally, to the point that he considers going to a clinic to overcome his addiction.
These two people, who prefer not to give their last names to preserve their anonymity, suffer personally the effects of technostress: the negative impact of technology on mental health, which is reflected in exhaustion, irritability, lack of concentration, memory, motivation. by work and even self-confidence, and which can lead to the most widespread psychological ills of our time: anxiety and depression, which in Spain affect more than four million people and 2.5 million, respectively, as how to collect White Paper on Mental and Emotional Health promoted by the Spanish Association of Human Resources Directors (AEDRH). In addition to having an impact, of course, “on the performance, motivation and productivity of workers, and may encourage absenteeism from work.”
In fact, sick leave due to mental health disorders increased by 118% between 2016 and 2023, according to the Ministry of Social Security. In the last year alone they rose 13.6%. And, although these absences are usually caused by different causes, “technology has an increasing impact,” says Jesús Torres, president of the AEDRH. “After the pandemic, the excess of technological use, from which we have not been able to free ourselves, has led us to a technodependence that is seen especially in the office, where today connectivity is 24 hours a day,” he says. .
“The technological inflation we are experiencing, especially since 2010, has contributed to the increase in depression and anxiety. Since that year, the consumption of antidepressants has increased by more than 40% and that of anxiolytics a little less,” says Gustavo Díez, general director of Nirakara, a mental health research and training institute. In his opinion, exposure to screens, cell phones, notifications… are hacking the two basic cognitive functions that differentiate the human brain: the attention capacity and the socialization capacity. “Technology is fragmenting attention, which we can maintain without distraction for only 47 seconds, and changing the way people socialize through social networks with still unknown consequences,” she says.
There is general discomfort in the workplace that is manifested by unmotivated people, an increase in sick leave due to mental health and the flight of professionals, says Mar Cabra, head of The Self Investigation foundation and expert in digital well-being. “Not everything can be attributed to techno-stress, but all the organizations I work with report that they cannot cope and that their workload is excessive,” she explains. And this has to do with multitasking, with the constant interruptions generated by notifications and with the excess of meetings, “the last two, at least, closely linked to an unhealthy digitalization, which has overwhelmed us after the covid, with tools that are permanently distracting and without disconnection because the messages continue to arrive on weekends: technology has amplified the restlessness.”
From their point of view, the problem is one of corporate culture, that companies have not defined a digital communication framework that establishes which channels to use for each thing and what the temporary response expectations are in each one: the key It is separating what is urgent from what is not urgent because we have a bias that leads us to think that we must answer before what is actually necessary. And this absence of rules is generating many tensions in the workforce, he argues. “The most repeated phrase from workers is: I get messages from anywhere and at any time and I don’t know how to prioritize,” says Cabra. “We must set limits on technology and establish moments of rest because, if not, it has been proven that it will lead to mental health problems: there is no nervous system that can withstand the hyperstimulation that we have.”
In addition to corporate protocol, this expert recommends that companies train their managers so that they promote healthy cultures and learn to schedule emails so that they are not sent outside of working hours. But the fundamental thing is that organizations manage their workload, he emphasizes, “if you do not address the problem of workload, increased by technology, what is the point of the employee having access to a meditation or yoga application,” he says. he questions.
Mar Cabra advises companies not to use WhatsApp in their communications. Gustavo Díez goes further and recommends not exposing oneself to stimuli that come through screens as much as possible because the brain has a cognitive limit and “it is not efficient to be concentrated and permanently change attention focus.” Stimuli must be managed, turning off notifications that are not strictly necessary, and having moments of disconnection, says this expert, who also cites exposure to sunlight, movement and drinking water as other fundamental precautions that keep us from being eight hours in front of the computer.
Disconnection
Many companies are getting to work to stop the effects of techno-stress on their workforce, most do so through digital disconnection protocols, others with the closure of digital access outside of working hours and others with simple training. indicates the president of the AEDRH: “They have realized that it affects productivity and that is one of the main reasons.”
At Heineken they have a tool that they have called Time in green for disconnection from screens, phones and meetings, explains its People Director, Monica Zei. At 6:00 p.m. a message from the head of the brewery indicates that it is time to rest until nine in the morning the next day, “a time during which it is recommended not to call meetings or send messages, or anything,” she explains. Furthermore, Fridays are the days without meetings and the multinational has a digital disconnection manifesto that promotes effective meetings, for which they cannot last more than 45 minutes, and you must be able to rest at least 15 minutes between them. All of these measures are preventive in nature, according to Zei, and are included in the company’s well-being strategy.
At Securitas Direct they also have a well-being program “to which in 2023 we dedicated more than 25,000 hours and up to 15,000 people participated,” according to its director of People Management for Iberia and Latin America, Álvaro Vázquez, who admits an increase in sick leave due to mental health. They have what they call a network of well-being influencers and the company deploys a set of 80 measures on the Thinking of You platform in which prevention and care for people in the face of stress, emotional management and critical situations are key, Add. Its psychological support program provided more than 1,000 hours of therapy last year.
Tips for parking work
37% of workers surveyed by the consulting firm Afford Health acknowledge that they have problems disconnecting. Anabel Fernández Fornelino, CEO of the company, gives a series of keys to be able to do so. To start, set an alarm to signal the end of her workday and write down pending tasks for the next day. Close all access to work platforms or resources and do not check work email after hours. If you use the same work phone for personal matters, mute the work groups. And remember, the more activities you do, the busier you are in your free time, the easier it will be to disconnect from the office.
Fernández Fornelino is concerned about how technology is altering our circadian rhythms and we are sleeping less and less; in fact, she says that one in two workers has problems falling asleep.
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