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Burnout - it can happen from being 'always on'
21 September 2024

A cyberpsychology view on being ‘Always On’

‘Always On’

The Internet and technology are integral parts of our working and personal lives. However, boundaries between the two blurred over the last few years. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a huge transition to working from home. Individuals were solely connected through their use of technology. The use of collaboration tools such as MS Teams, Zoom, and Slack, made working from home increasingly productive. As a result, since restrictions have lifted worldwide, 30% of employers opted for remote working policies (Sava, 2022). 

So, how does this effect our personal lives? Take a minute to reflect on this question.

  • Do you use the same devices for your work communications and personal communications?
  • How often do you receive digital alerts, both professional and personal?
  • How quickly do you respond to digital work alerts?
  • Do you find that your personal life is somewhat infringed upon by digital alerts?
  • Why do you stay connected to work channels in your personal time?
  • Ultimately, on your digital devices, when and where does work begin and end?
  • What does this mean for your mental health?
  • Finally and most importantly, do you know why are you ‘always on’?

When you are ‘always on’, you may find it difficult to switch from one task to another without spending enough time on each task. Of course, this may be a different experience for different individuals, not everyone reacts in the same way. For some, task switching can result in the build-up of workload. You may find that you work out of hours to reduce your workload, but this could have the opposite effect. It is likely that this behaviour could feed into a cycle of psychological stress which is not good for worker well-bring or productivity. There are three ways where digital alerts can impact on the person working from home (Attrill-Smith & Uther, 2021). 

Digital alerts can break concentration and cause us to lose track of what we’re doing. Our attention is disrupted and this can be a cause of frustration.

Digital alerts can mentally bring us back into the workplace, even during our personal time. Where do you keep your smartphone? In your pocket? On the bedside table as you sleep? On the kitchen table as you eat? A digital alert can drag our concentration away from the task at hand. This may result in further stress and anxiety. We can always choose to not respond to the alert, but for some, this may be a cause of further stress. 

Have you ever meticulously tidied your workspace prior to a video call? Or carefully chosen a virtual background? Have you ever asked yourself why? It is possible that we try to manage our online impression similar to how we select images to post on social media. Not only that, some people may feel judged by others based on how the background looks. After all, we are inviting work colleagues into our home.

 

What can you do?

How can you manage digital interruptions? Here are a number of practical suggestions, if you haven’t already done so:

Keep a clear boundary between work and home. For example, don’t give your number to work colleagues. If your workplace allows, request work devices rather than using your own personal devices. Switch work devices off when you finish work.

If you are using your personal smartphone or your PC/laptop for work purposes, create a work profile that you enable only during work hours. This will mute any digital alerts until you actively load your work profile.

If you are using your PC or laptop for work purposes, install a new browser and only use this to check work accounts on web-based applications. 

If during your working hours, you are working on a concentration heavy task, leave your phone in another room. This may not always be possible, especially if you need to authenticate your account for some applications. Try to mute the alerts on both your smart device and your laptop/PC to allow yourself some time to work uninterrupted. 

To manage your concentration, you could use the pomodoro technique which allows you to work for a short set time (usually 20-25 minutes) (Collins, 2020). You can then take a short break during which time you could check your digital alerts.

Use an online calendar so that your colleagues can see your free time. Mark hours as unavailable to let people know that you will be working on other tasks and cannot immediately respond to digital alerts.

For video conferencing, opt to use audio rather than video. Establish the ground rules regarding video on/off before the meeting.

 

References

Attrill-Smith, A., & Uther, M. (2021). Digital Intrusion in an enforced COVID homeworking era. Cyberpsychology research group at the University of Wolverhampton. https://www.wlv.ac.uk/news-and-events/wlv-blog/2021/may-2021/digital-intrusion-in-an-enforced-covid-homeworking-era.php

Collins, B. (2020, March, 3). The pomodoro technique explained. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryancollinseurope/2020/03/03/the-pomodoro-technique/?sh=4b418c6b3985 

Flood, C. (2016). The online workplace. In I. Connolly, M. Palmer, H. Barton, & G. Kirwan (Eds.). An introduction to cyberpsychology (pp. 181-193). Routledge.

Save, J. A. (2022, February, 7). Work from home & remote work – statistics and facts. Statista. https://www.statista.com/topics/6565/work-from-home-and-remote-work/#dossierKeyfigures

 

Author: Dr. Audrey Stenson

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology with specific research interest in Cyberpsychology.

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Dublin, Ireland

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