Impacts of Digital Workplace – How It Affects Your Mental Health?
The covid-19 pandemic has brought some drastic changes in our lifestyle. In an attempt to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, a digital workplace has been introduced. Now, it has changed the way employees used to work in the office.
A digital workplace which is a virtualized form of a traditional office, allows employees to work remotely. Although the digital workplace has many benefits, it can affect employees’ mental health. With employees spending more than 8 hours a day sitting in a chair and looking at screens, a digital workplace can impact both their physical and mental health negatively.
How Does Digital Workplace Affect Your Mental Health?
As we have already mentioned, the digital workplace has both positive and negative impacts on health. Let’s have a look at how it affects the mental health of employees.
• Stress and Anxiety
The digital workplace that has become a part of our professional lives can be stressful sometimes. One of the reasons behind it is that technology plays a major role here. Confused? Thinking about how technology can cause stress?
Well, employees often find it difficult to adopt new technologies. Their inability to keep pace with technology causes them stress and anxiety. They become scared of being left behind their coworkers. This may really affect their productivity and performance.
• Isolation and Loneliness
The digital workplace is designed to work from anywhere, be it your home or somewhere else. While working remotely, employees like you cannot meet the coworkers face to face. Since employees have limited social interactions, it often makes them feel lonely.
Not all workers are used to working alone, without social interactions. Virtual conversations do not always help them vent out. It is due to the physical disconnection with colleagues; employees like you often start feeling lonely, which is pretty normal.
• Depression
Spending long hours in front of screens not only causes back pain and neck pain but also lead to severe mental health problems like depression. The digital workplace sometimes has significant psychological effects on employees. They often feel lonely and frustrated because of the lack of social interactions or social isolation. It eventually leads to depression.
However, a digital workplace that allows people to work from home also has some benefits. It helps employees manage time. They get scopes for spending quality time with family and friends. This undoubtedly helps them improve their mental health. So, it always depends on how you take things or how you utilize your time.
Digital Workplace and Mental Wellbeing – Improving Your Mental Health
Here are some tips on how to improve mental health for digital workplace employees:
• Stay Connected with Coworkers
Remember, you can always reach your family, friends and coworkers whenever you want. Even if you work remotely, stay connected with your friends and colleagues. This helps you improve your emotional health.
• Set Priorities
One of the best ways to find peace is to set priorities and work accordingly. You are not obliged to say yes to everyone – learn to set boundaries and say no to people.
• Take Short Breaks
It is necessary to break up your schedule and take short breaks sometimes. This not only improves your mental health but also makes you more productive.
The digital workplace has both negative and positive impacts. It is flexible and helps employees work efficiently. But, it can also trigger their negative emptions and make them feel disturbed. Whether it will cause mental health problems or boost your productivity depends on how you use it.