Today is World Mental Health Day and for this event, the World Labor Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have recalled the importance of caring for workers’ mental health, for their own well-being as well as for their productivity and performance that contribute to the progress of society as a whole.
The incarceration revealed a work model, telecommuting, which, while welcomed by many employees, is also proving to be a new source of stress. In particular, techno-stress, a result of the intensive use of information technologies or what is the same: spending too many hours interacting with screens and devices.
The term techno stress encompasses many concepts, as it tells us about the stress of using many electronic devices at the same time, as well as the sense of intrusion, or even the techno addiction itself.
How can we know if we are suffering from technological stress? Measures should be taken if we find that we are not disconnecting and we are busy all day, especially outside of our working day, including weekends. When our addiction to work or technology causes us family and couple problems. Or if we don’t rest properly and we feel more tired and irritable.
When various symptoms such as those described are identified, there are a series of self-care guidelines that we can follow to protect ourselves from techno-stress and not get “burnt out” with new technologies.
Set a schedule. It is necessary that we establish a work schedule to make room for other aspects of our lives, such as leisure and rest. We must try to comply with it and that an excess of flexibility does not lead us to disorder and mix our work life with our private life. In addition, a schedule allows us to organize the various tasks of each day and be more productive.
control the frustration. When technologies fail, we must learn to deal with the frustration caused by things that don’t depend on us. In addition, it is useful to be patient with ourselves when we are confronted with new programs or applications: we have to remember that we are not all digital natives or learn at the same pace, and that is fine. Finally, if we focus on the tasks one by one, instead of using the “multitasking mode”, we will save ourselves more than one burden.
Disconnect. During the working day, it is advisable to take breaks to rest and take the opportunity to get up, take a few steps, take our eyes off the screen, stretch, moisturize, etc. It It’s helpful to schedule these breaks so that we don’t skip them. Once our tasks and schedule are complete, and during weekends and holidays, we must make way for other activities, avoiding checking our company’s communication channels, such as WhatsApp, social networks or email, unless there is an emergency. In addition, as much as possible, we will choose leisure options where we are no longer exposed to screens, such as exercise, a walk in nature, board games or reading.
Rest. The lack of rest, due to techno-stress, has been found to be a source of health and safety problems, including decline in work performance, increase in accidents, absenteeism, etc. In one of our studios found that 56% of the Spanish population suffer from sleep disorders, 60% suffer from overwhelm and tension, and 40% suffer from lack of concentration, risk factors for developing disorders such as anxiety or depression
Ask for help. If you feel discomfort such as exhaustion, demoralization, and loss of motivation, don’t wait to hit rock bottom and ask for help. Find out if your company has a service such as the PAE (Employee Support Program) in which peer psychologists work with employees, guiding them continuously, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Today, which is World Mental Health Day, is a good time to remember that we need to take care of our way of life. Applying self-care measures is the first sign of discomfort that can help prevent it from progressing further. Therefore, we must prevent new technologies, which are here to help us, from becoming a risk factor, in the form of techno-stress, which harms our mental health and that around us. Let’s be aware of this, not just today, but all year round.
Source: Marie Claire
