Digital tools such as Teams or Zoom have made working from home easier. But: A constantly flashing incoming message, mobile phone ringing and meetings on the screen also mean digital stress. How can you work in a relaxed manner in the new normal?
By Reinhild Fürstenberg
Mr. R. * (51) is a clerk at an automotive supplier. He seems dissatisfied and irritable when he comes to the consultation and says he should take a deep breath first. Again he has a day full of processed e-mails, status meetings and video conferences behind him, but goes into the evening with the feeling that he has not done anything right.
On the way to the consultation at the Fürstenberg Institute alone, he received a large number of new chat and voice messages, and an important customer email almost got lost. The feeling of constant availability paralyzes Mr. R. increasingly. He has the impression that customers, employees and his superiors expect ever shorter reaction times from him. He suddenly finds it difficult to organize his working day and to have important information ready. Structured work, prioritization and decision-making are always one of his strengths.
The flood of tasks and information has led Mr. R. to pick up his cell phone again at the weekend and in the evening, always afraid of missing something important. Most of the time he withdraws ashamed, because he has actually promised his partner to separate professional and private matters and to be there for the family in his free time. But he sees from the green bar in the team chat that his colleagues are also online … Even in sleep, he finds rest less and less, he suffers from long waking phases – and even then his thoughts revolve around the emails. Mr. R. is now considering taking sick leave or even looking for a quieter job. But does it still exist?
Approaches to solving digital stress
Quite a lot that Mr. R. brought with him to the first consultation. As a job coach, I now try to organize the topics with him, to limit them and to look for the first possible solutions that can contribute to relaxation.
Stress is usually triggered by an imbalance between the demands of the environment and the personal requirements, possibilities, abilities and resources of a person to deal with the demands. Digital stress arises when dealing with digital technologies is perceived as stressful – as with Mr. R.
In the consultation we start with developing a target image for Mr. R. What would his everyday life look like if everything were fine again, if he no longer had any digital stress? It quickly becomes clear that he would then work according to regular working hours again, his inner pressure would no longer be there, he could “work down” a little undisturbed and he would have his old, happy relaxation back.
After we identify the main stressors in Mr. R. in the second step, it turns out that he also has stress-increasing thought patterns and beliefs: He believes, for example, that if he does not immediately respond to every email, he will no longer be from his boss is seen as a good employee. Or: If he works so confused, he will soon lose his job. Is that really true? We differentiate …
Three homework for Mr. R.
This analysis work helps to develop new thinking strategies. Then we will take the time to plan the first concrete implementation steps. It is about how he restructures his daily routine, how he manages to implement mobile-free times, how he can keep track of his work and how he formulates emails that mean that he does not deliver results immediately.
Mr R. would like to do a lot at once, which in my experience as a job coach is usually only crowned with short-term success. We agree on three changes that he will try before our next appointment in two weeks: 1. Three fixed blocks of time on each working day in which he processes his emails. 2. When jogging every day, he leaves his cell phone at home and also turns it off for an hour after work. 3. Mr R. formulates an appealing “out of office notice”, from which it can be seen that he will process incoming mails immediately when he is back at his desk – which he can send as required. I also show him a light breathing exercise with which he can always relax himself in between – no matter where he is, even on his walks.
More tips for dealing with digital stress:
- Be careful with digital tools. Switch e.g. B. Beep tones and pop-up functions for new messages and use different devices for professional and private use.
- Use support, assistance and training opportunities (IT support, tutorials, etc.), especially with new tools, and practice using them before important meetings. Also, have backup strategies ready in case technology lets you down. And try to relax and keep your sense of humor.
- Prioritize your tasks, plan sufficient buffer times and regular breaks (60/40 rule or 60/20/20 rule).
- No multitasking: one task at a time!
- Create transparency and clarity: Agree on clear communication rules with colleagues and superiors (e.g. with regard to how often you check your e-mails) and make sure that your presence and absence and response times (in which Period are you usually able to answer?) Are known. You can also use the out-of-office assistant and the voicemail announcement if you are not available.
- Celebrate rituals within your work day (e.g. a 1-minute meditation when you have completed a task or a short self-check (“How am I doing?”) And allow yourself offline phases in work as well as in Private.
- Maintain an open and positive attitude towards the benefits of technological developments (such as “I’ve already achieved other things”) and see digitization as an opportunity for lifelong learning.
* Anonymized case study from the advisory practice of the Fürstenberg Institute. The case was anonymized with the consent of those affected.
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
