Hyper-connectivity allows you to stay in touch with your work all the time but constantly demands attention, with the consequences of loss of concentration, stress and mental exhaustion.
Since the easy access to the Internet and the increase in teleworking days, our digital usage habits have changed. The rise of digital technology has brought its own benefits and consequences. One of these is hyperconnectivity. It is described as a constant state of communication with a continuous flow of information. The rapid evolution of technology offers us new digital services that allow anyone to remain available at all times. However, this new habit can be difficult to manage for your employees. Even during a well-deserved break, employees tend to stay connected on their phone or computer, although their digital actions are more private than professional. With the presence of multiple social tools (phones, computers, tablets, shared calendars, and other information technologies), your employees find it difficult to change their habits. They are then subjected to the infobesity (information excess) of the digital world. And yet, hyperconnectivity and the resulting excessive accessibility tend to have a heavy impact on the world of work.
Today, hyperconnectivity has become a public health phenomenon. Characterised by a urgent need for action, hyperconnectivity creates a form of digital dependency (sometimes called “screen addiction”). Your employees are permanently solicited and their cognitive performance is affected. According to a study by the National Habitat Agency (Anah), the mental overload linked to hyperconnectivity causes employees to lose up to 28% of their productivity. Between the loss of creativity and the reduction in the quality of life at work, your employees are more likely to develop psychosocial problems, whose main consequences are loss of concentration, mental exhaustion and stress. Hyperconnectivity also has a direct impact on health, as it causes anxiety (nomophobia: heightened anxiety at the thought of not having one’s phone nearby), visual fatigue and headaches. The formation of these disorders is not always caused by telework but comes from both the professional and private spheres. Actually, the digital screen is the major problem, regardless of the workspace (office, home, coworking space, etc.) associated with it. It is obvious that the degradation of the quality of life of your employees can have a negative impact on the efficiency of the work provided as well as on the absenteeism rate of your company. Hyperconnectivity is therefore a financial cost that your company can avoid by developing the right methods.
The Balencio platform will help you face this new challenge! To fight against hyperconnectivity, you need to identify the departments or populations at risk within your company. Based on our surveys, you determine which teams need a disconnection policy the most. You engage a “detox” methodological approach that helps your employees to detach themselves from the feeling of urgent professional communication. With better management of your resources, you reduce the psychosocial risks associated with an increased connection. You considerably reduce the impact on the cognitive abilities of your employees and your management. By reducing connection times, you revitalise the resilience, concentration and motivation of your employees, thereby energising productivity within your companies.
The new means of communication in the company have reduced the boundaries between the private and professional lives of employees. The right to disconnect is essential to keep your employees energised. However, it is sometimes difficult to deactivate emails during well-deserved breaks. How can you limit the porosity between these two worlds? First of all, it is important to remember that hyperconnectivity is not the equivalent of flexibility or professional enthusiasm. Breaks should be taken away from technological resources and the attention they demand. It is therefore essential to learn how to silence this digital use, whether it be for new notifications, urgent email or lunchtime calls. These anti-stress strategies are easy to put in place by defining connection times adapted to the work context. Finally, the employee must accept that teleworking and/or office work are time-defined and should not infringe on the private sphere. Tasks that could not be accomplished on the same day will be resumed the next day. With the right management of your resources, opt for a balance between the private and professional spheres of your employees.
At Air Liquide, one of the main missions is to anticipate change and help the organization evolve to meet future ambitions. As the environment evolves at a fast pace, regular monitoring is essential. The mapping carried out by Bright Link allowed us to confront ourselves to the right questions, and thus revealed areas for improvement. Today, workgroups have been launched, allowing an in-depth approach, with more precise information, on key topics such as hyper connectivity, … Thank you Balencio!