Better wellbeing through technology
More of us in our personal and work lives are paying attention to our wellbeing. Some like me, think about it but end up not doing enough. Then continue with the same bad habits with periodic attempts to break them. In the workplace more emphasis is being put on wellbeing with some staff getting together to form wellbeing groups. These are the vanguard who with the growing use of internal workplace social media signpost the rest of us to the possibility of being less stressed, happier and fitter.
As someone who embraces technology and social media some of what I read challenges how I use both. The question is this; does using technology and social media make us more distracted, less productive, stressed and unable to do what Cal Newport calls ‘Deep Work’. For some in the wellbeing movement technology (for the rest of this piece technology will denote social media as well) is not quite the enemy of wellbeing but like capitalism it is to be controlled. They can see the benefits of technology in the workplace but a perception exists that it will distract and stress in equal measure. This can be found in calls for digital temperance; “Which is why we need a social and political movement — digital temperance, if you will — to take back some control.” (Ross Douthat, New York Times)
Using technology does not have to be in opposition to your wellbeing it can if used correctly increase your wellbeing. Your smartphone can be a source of distraction but the apps available can introduce a moment of calm. The British app Headspace has been a huge success and downloaded 11 million times.
Have trouble sleeping, Ask Alexa to play the sound of thunder storms and rain. Remember when email was romantic? If we done a sequel to Norah Ephron’s film You’ve Got Mail we could call it ‘You’ve Got Spam and to complete the trilogy ‘You’ve Got Work’. A campaign once told us that “tax doesn’t have to be taxing”. Nor does email because I think the application of artificial intelligence to email is making it less stressful and more efficient. Showing you only what you need to see. Try Google’s Inbox.
Collaboration is natural for some but stressful for others. Managing the collaboration can feel like additional work. The benefits in the workplace as organisations move to the cloud making documents available on devices anywhere there is connection to the internet. This also allows you to collaborate or if prefer work together (sounds nicer) on documents. Is it more detrimental to your wellbeing to simply put a document on Office 365 and invite colleagues to read, amend and suggest improvements? Or email it to all and sundry then get the endless track changes documents back. At that stage you will need to consult your Headspace app, mediate then take on board all the track changes eventually coming out the other end with a final document.
Technology moves at great speed. This is captured well in the title of Robert Colville’s book ‘The Great Acceleration: How the World is Getting Faster, Faster’. Technology contributes to this acceleration but it can also slow things down. Wellbeing groups especially in the workplace should look upon technology not simply as a tool for mass distraction but as one that can contribute to our wellbeing.
