The digital work environment: how it affects wellbeing at work

Is your wellbeing affected by the digital work environment too? There’s a lot to suggest that this is one of the big, overlooked culprits. Here are the figures, and the first practical steps.

It hardly comes as a surprise that wellbeing in Danish and international workplaces is under pressure. According to the Danish Health Authority (Sundhedsstyrelsen), the share of Danish adults with a high score on the stress scale rose from 21% in 2013 to 29% in 2021, and it hasn’t come down since.

Traditionally, we look at challenges such as high demands at work, a lack of control over the working day, a poor work environment or a lack of psychological safety. Of course, all of these play a part. But what has really changed in recent years and put wellbeing under even more pressure?

Much of the evidence points to the digital work environment as one of the big culprits, and to how hard we find it to strike a TechLifeBalance day to day.

What the figures say

From Forbes’ 2023 “State of the Workplace” report, you can conclude that 60% of participants feel more burnt out because of the growing volume of digital communication, while half say their productivity is directly harmed by ineffective communication.

Microsoft has studied the subject thoroughly. Its 2023 Work Trend Index includes these findings:

• 68% don’t feel they have enough uninterrupted focus time during the working day.
• 64% struggle to find the time and energy to do their work.

Microsoft combines survey data with usage patterns from its own services and reports that, on average, we spend 57% of our screen time on communication, in Teams meetings, email and chat, and only 43% on actually producing work.

The most important step may be meaningful feedback

Gallup has studied how people who work away from the office feel less connected to their organisation’s mission and purpose. What’s fascinating is that Gallup also identifies a solution that leaders control themselves: meaningful feedback. 80% of the employees who have received meaningful feedback from their manager in the past week are fully engaged, regardless of how many days they’ve worked in the office. Meaningful feedback does four times as much for engagement as the number of days spent in the office.

Read Gallup’s analysis here: Are Remote Workers and Their Organizations Drifting Apart?

Time for a health check

We think it’s time to take a closer look at the digital working day: give your collaboration and meeting culture a health check, set new ground rules and expectations for digital availability, and help employees find their way to a healthier digital balance. A good place to start is getting focus time back in the calendar, and get the concepts straight in the guide What is hybrid leadership?

Do you need inspiration or advice on wellbeing in the flexible workplace? We give talks and workshops on wellbeing and TechLifeBalance, as standard talks or tailored to your needs.