How Mindfulness Can Combat Digital Burnout in the Workplace
The Digital Dark Side: A Threat to Mental Health
The constant barrage of texts, emails, video meetings, and notifications in the digital workplace can lead to stress, anxiety, and overload. This phenomenon, known as the digital dark side of technology, poses a significant risk to both physical and mental health. In a world where technology plays a central role in our daily lives, it’s crucial to find effective ways to combat the negative impact it can have on our well-being.
The Power of Mindfulness
Mindfulness, an ancient practice focused on being present in the moment without judgment, has emerged as a powerful tool for combating the dark side effects of technology. By practicing mindfulness, individuals can cultivate a greater sense of awareness and control over their thoughts and feelings, leading to increased productivity and reduced stress levels. Mindful breathing, for example, allows workers to focus on their breath as a way to center themselves amidst digital chaos.
The Research on Mindfulness and Technology Trust
A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Nottingham explored the relationship between mindfulness, trust in technology, and the impact of these factors on the digital workplace. The study found that mindfulness was more effective than relying solely on technology in protecting against the negative effects of digital stress. However, technology trust was particularly beneficial in situations where individuals felt anxious or feared missing out, such as during remote work.
Expert Perspectives on Mindfulness in the Workplace
Leading experts in the field of mindfulness emphasize the importance of proactive approaches to well-being in the workplace. Workplace mindfulness programs have been shown to not only reduce healthcare costs but also increase productivity by double digits. By integrating mindfulness into organizational culture, leaders and workers can develop the mental and emotional skills necessary to navigate the challenges of the digital work environment effectively.
Practical Applications of Mindfulness
Employees can adopt mindfulness practices in their daily routines to combat digital burnout. Techniques such as taking deep breaths, setting boundaries around technology use, and checking in with oneself throughout the workday can help individuals maintain a sense of balance and well-being. By incorporating mindfulness into their work habits, employees can strengthen their resilience in the face of digital stressors.
Unique Insights and Perspectives
While the benefits of mindfulness in the workplace are well-documented, its implementation can vary significantly across different organizations. Companies that prioritize mindfulness training and create a culture of well-being are more likely to see positive outcomes in terms of employee health and performance. By fostering a supportive environment that values mental and emotional well-being, organizations can empower their employees to thrive in the digital age.
Summary
In conclusion, mindfulness serves as a powerful antidote to the digital burnout that plagues modern workplaces. By cultivating a practice of presence and awareness, individuals can harness the benefits of mindfulness to combat the negative effects of technology on their mental health. Through proactive initiatives and a focus on well-being, organizations can create a culture that prioritizes mindfulness and empowers employees to thrive amidst the challenges of the digital era.
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Editor’s note: Doctors burn out, too. Read the Medscape Physician Burnout and Depression Report 2024: ‘We Have Much Work to Do’
March 8, 2024—Texts. Emails. Video meetings. Texts to remind you of upcoming video conferences.
And so it goes on and on, until what technology experts and psychologists call the digital dark side of technology (stress, anxiety, feeling overload) annihilates you, endangering your physical and mental health.
However, preventing Burned feeling is According to experts, it is possible to practice mindfulness, an ancient approach focused on being aware of feelings in the moment without judgment or interpretation. Mindful breathing, for example, focuses on paying attention to your breath as you inhale and exhale. With a mindfulness approach, workers can leverage technology to be more productive, less stressed, and more in control.
Mindfulness over digital confidence?
in a new study, researchers looked at participants’ mindfulness, as well as their trust in technology, to determine if either, or both, buffered the dark sides of the digital workplace. These dark sides include stress, overload, anxiety, fear of missing out (FOMO) and addiction, said Elizabeth Marsh, a doctoral student at the University of Nottingham in England and a mindfulness professor who led the study.
At first, Marsh briefly described mindfulness to participants, but did not teach it to them. Many were already familiar with the practice. The researchers surveyed 142 workers, ages 18 to 54, 84% of them women, about their level of mindfulness in the digital workplace and their trust in technology.
They also asked about their levels of stress, overload, anxiety, FOMO (like when working from home), and addiction. In addition to the survey, they conducted more in-depth interviews with 14 of the workers. Most worked 25 to 40 hours a week, and 25 workers logged more than 40. Only 5% said they were not stressed, more than 73% reported mild or moderate stress, and more than 21% reported extreme or very extreme stress. .
Mindfulness was more effective than relying on technology in protecting against all the dark side effects, he said. But “reliance on technology was particularly helpful when people were feeling anxious and afraid of missing out.” [such as during remote work]”
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that mindfulness trumped technological confidence. “But we can definitely say it’s really important,” she said.
They also found, as suspected, that the dark side effects of technology affected physical and mental health, and digital stress and other dark side effects were linked to greater burnout and poorer health.
Expert Perspectives
The growth of mindfulness in the Western world dates back to Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, who created a mindfulness-based program at the University of Massachusetts in 1979. Since then, many American companies have launched workplace mindfulness programs. However, most focus on coping mechanisms after the fact, trying to remedy the effects of technological overload, said Michael Foster, founder and president of the Institute of Organizational Sciences and Mindfulness, which advocates for science-based mindfulness and mental health in the workplace.
The new study, he said, “begins by unraveling the various mental and emotional challenges at work so that they can be addressed through intentionally targeted neural training.” [with mindfulness.]”
According to Foster, who was not involved in the British study, “workplace well-being is completely reactive and lags far behind science.”
Companies should view this new study as proof that mindfulness training can shift the organization to a more proactive stance and give leaders and workers the mental and emotional skills to “more effectively and successfully navigate the workplace.” of digital work”.
Workplace mindfulness programs can reduce healthcare costs and increase productivity by double digits, according to Foster’s organization.
Mindfulness in action
Participants in the British study shared some of their mindfulness techniques during interviews. One cited taking a few deep breaths when work becomes overwhelming and pausing before continuing.
Another said it’s important to check in with yourself during the workday and actually ask yourself, “Am I mentally okay?” “How do I feel physically?”
Others decided they needed more boundaries around technology, reducing the amount of engagement time when working from home. Others turned off notifications at times or logged out completely at night.
Google’s Mindfulness Guru
The new research echoes previous evidence about the value of mindfulness, said Mirabai Bush, a mindfulness expert and senior fellow at the Center for the contemplative mind in society, a global community that advocates for contemplative practices such as mindfulness. What’s unique about the recent study, she said, is that it combines mindfulness with the concept of digital trust and the finding that mindfulness protects against more side effects of technology.
That, he said, “increases your potential and importance in the workplace. No one seems to know what to do with this digital stress.”
In 2007, Bush co-developed Google’s mindfulness program, called Search inside yourself. It has grown into an independent educational institute that teaches mindfulness to government workers and nonprofit organizations. During the launch at Google, Bush taught mindfulness to young engineers who, as she said, had spent most of their working lives staring at screens, with little face-to-face interaction. She found that persuading the engineers to talk about feelings and take a breath was a challenge, but doable.
At the beginning of the course, he said, “we talked about conscious email.” Includes: “Write the email. Take three breaths. Look again. Imagine how the person who was going to receive it will feel emotionally and intelligently.” Ask: Is this the wrong message?
An engineer needed to convince a worker to do something and was looking for a tone that asked but not demanded. He wrote and rewrote an email carefully and then reported: “I did something radical. I picked up the phone”. He realized that the tone of an email would make his request seem demanding, no matter how many times he rewrote it.
Mindfulness Communities
Four years ago, Megan Whitney created a mindfulness community in Feeding America, a national network of food banks, pantries and local meal programs. Workers at 200 food banks can access the program online, said Whitney, a senior manager at the organization who is also certified to teach mindfulness. One practice, called “minutes to arrive,” invites everyone to set a timer for 1 minute before a meeting and simply breathe, eyes open or closed.
“Working at the food bank is very stressful,” Whitney said. One user told him: “It can feel alone in the nonprofit world. “People don’t understand what I do as a food banker.” The community helps her feel connected, she said.
Other research on mindfulness
“Practicing mindfulness can help digital users become more aware of their habitual, unconscious responses to digital interaction (e.g., Doom scrolling, task switching, and habitual phone checking) and take decisive steps to protect themselves.” their well-being,” he said. David Harley, PhD, senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Brighton in the United Kingdom, who wrote a book based on his research on using mindfulness in a digital world.
He takes issue with a measure used in the new study, which looked at “trait mindfulness,” which he said indicates that mindfulness has to be a trait the person already has. Instead of looking for people who practice mindfulness, employers should provide training, he said.
Mindfulness in the Workplace You Can Do Yourself
Workers in companies that do not have formal mindfulness programs can learn and practice it on their own. Here are some suggestions from the experts:
- Anchor yourself in your immediate bodily experience, Harley said. “Pay attention to how your body feels while engaging in digital interactions.”
- Reducing your digital distractions can help. “Close all devices, windows and apps other than the one you are currently working with and turn off all notifications,” Harley said.
- “Breathe again,” Harley said, explaining that being aware of how you breathe is valuable, even if just for a moment.
- Silence your phone or turn down notifications from different apps, Marsh suggested.
- Learning basic mindfulness is easy, Bush said. “Sit down, close your eyes, watch your breathing.” While self-study is possible, “it is good to learn from a teacher at first.” Many online resources guide users through the practice of consciousness.
The research was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council-Midlands Graduate School.
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