01 Sep Your work-life balance needs digital detox
Increasingly it seems that in our ‘always on’ culture we can’t put down our phones, even when we’re on holiday. The need to keep up to date on work emails or make that quick phone call from the beach is something that many of us struggle with.
But not having good boundaries around work and leisure time, and extending our working days long beyond ‘office hours’, can actually become counterproductive and leave us far less effective at work. At Time To Log Off, we encourage users to have a healthy balance between their time online and their time offline and we do this through digital detox retreats. But we also feel strongly that everyone’s daily work-life balance needs an element of regular digital detox, and this is why;
Your stress levels are affected
You might think that when you get home from a stressful day in the office replying to a few emails will help you the next day and maybe even make it stress-free. Well, you’re wrong, you’ll actually become less productive.
Workers who find it hard to switch off from work and check emails out of hours report lower personal productivity and job satisfaction levels and higher levels of stress.
You’re working too many hours
Your normal working hours might be 9-5 but, how often do you actually work between 9 and 5? Maybe once a month? Don’t forget to add up the time you spend working on that important proposal on the train to work, the phone calls in your lunch break and the work you take home to finish off.
Almost 4 million employees now work at least 48 hours per week, 350,000 more than a decade ago. With the average working week in the UK now being 43.6 compared to the limit of just 35 in France, it’s no wonder 15 million Brits have ditched their digital devices.
Your managers want to cut their time online too
It’s definitely time to introduce a digital detox into your work life when your boss wants to switch off too. Our managers at work are aware of the number of hours we clock in when at home and 39% agree that their employer should restrict out-of-hours email access. Introducing boundaries when you leave the office such as switching off work email will help you introduce a mini digital detox into your daily life and give you time to switch off every day.
Your holidays aren’t proper breaks
Our annual holiday was once a period of time where we went away for a week of pure relaxation, a real break from our working lives, somewhere to totally switch off.
Not anymore.
60% of people say that a traditional holiday does not relieve their stress, whilst many admit to checking emails and taking phone calls when away, sometimes multiple times a day. When this happens, you’re bringing your work environment into your holiday. You bring all the stress of work with you too, and you can’t fully relax.
You’ll end up with digital burnout
Work burnout, caused by stress levels that affect our job performance is something that more and more of us are suffering from. A burnout is a reaction to chronic stress which is often caused by working long hours. Being constantly connected to our smartphones, laptops and tablets after work can now also leave us susceptible to digital burnout.
If you’re struggling to get a good balance between your work and your life take a look at our digital detox retreats, or our tips on doing a digital detox at home.
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