Digital Burnout: The Dangers of Being too Accessible to Work
4 Ways to Use Mindfulness to Digitally Disconnect
Have you ever stopped to wonder why it’s so hard to disconnect from work?
Perhaps you find yourself overcome with an overwhelming urge to constantly remain connected beyond your typical office hours.
Or maybe, you feel that working from home binds you to stay connected without regard to time. Whatever the case may be, the lines have blurred and you don’t quite know how to snap out of it.
Sound familiar?
I would like to invite you to journey with me through this post, as we explore four ways in which we can use mindfulness to create clear boundaries to release us from the restrictive bonds of workplace burnout.
A New Day
Up until very recently, many companies viewed working from home as a privilege that was reserved for a select few. Cue in a global pandemic, and literally everything changed overnight. Practically every company imaginable was forced to pivot to a virtual environment to keep pace with the rapidly changing times. And just like that, what was once perceived as ineffective, and nonproductive, has now become a mainstay with many businesses permanently shifting to a virtual workspace.
Understandably there are countless reasons why working from home offers the best of both worlds. Who wouldn’t willingly exchange early morning traffic jams, surging tolls, and skyrocketing gas prices, for a seemly short commute by foot? I for one welcomed the opportunity to no longer stress over getting up at the crack of dawn, let alone having to strategize over what I going to wear in the coming week, or having to ensure there was enough food left over to take for lunch.
I for one am beyond grateful for not having to wake up at the crack of dawn, to rely on GPS to strategically guide me to maneuver through traffic in what would often seem a futile attempt at shaving time off what was otherwise a very long, and torturous commute.
The very fact that I could sleep a lot later, avoid traffic, abandon a long tortuous commute, eat on the fly, and wear as little or as much as I wanted was a game-changer. Theoretically, it was a win-win. However, as with most things, it wasn’t all rainbows and waterfalls.
The Convenience of Accessibility
In today’s technology age, devices enable us to remain connected twenty-four seven. This not only applies to our personal devices, but it also applies to work-related matters. Whether you securely connect your work email to your phone, or you are assigned a handheld work device, increased accessibility subtly implies the expectation of increased responsiveness.
In many industries, being assigned a phone is commonplace. Much like our personal phones, there’s a subtle implication that our work phone use should mirror our regular phone use. In other words, we should keep it within arms reach, and respond to notifications with the same efficiency as we would with our personal devices. Being that perception is reality, it can place an unrealistic obligation to have not only have one but two phones at bay at any given time. Much like personal notifications, work communications can fill your mailbox without regard to time, leaving you with little to no time to disconnect.
Theoretically, it makes perfect sense to have a convenient mode of contact. However, in actuality, it blurs the lines between work and home life, making it hard to create clear boundaries that define the two. What was once so clearly demarcated with a predefined physical workspace, is now practically indiscernible as the two worlds are now inextricably intertwined. This presents a completely new conundrum when it comes to work, life, and home balance.
Blurred Lines
We’ve all seen those weekend email threads that chronicle your fellow team members devoting several hours to working beyond normal business hours. Whether it’s the early morning or the midnight hour, your inbox is constantly filled with email timestamps that span the spectrum. It doesn’t matter if someone from your team is out on sick leave or vacationing on a cruise ship in the middle of the Caribbean, work is still getting done with the same expediency.
In all honesty, it makes absolutely no sense that it appears that your fellow co-workers eat, sleep, and breathe, work twenty-four seven. That is, everyone but you. In your mind’s eye, it seems that you, and you alone are the only one, that actually observes any time off to disconnect. It’s almost as if you are on the outside looking in, as you work to maintain some semblance of work-life balance.
Being connected twenty-four-seven, by phone, or otherwise has significantly encroached on and monopolized our time. Unfortunately, it has evolved into a new unspoken norm, or at least it seems. Only this is not quite exactly what you signed up for. At least this is nothing at all that I agreed to, this new norm places us in a very precarious position as we now have to navigate maintaining a sufficient work-life balance, with open the pressure of remaining connected at all times.
Tapped Out
Worn out and exhausted from fighting the urge to comply with workplace norms, we often reluctantly surrender and fall in line. Suddenly you find yourself easefully accepting after-hours meeting invites, responding to emails, morning, noon, and night. Now you carry two phones wherever you go, responding to every notification with the same expediency, as your personal device.
As the weeks roll into months, and years, you may likely find that you have now made the new norm part of your daily routine as you now wake up, roll out of bed, attend to your very basic needs, and ready yourself for the day, on the rare occasion that you don’t have an eight am meeting.
Or perhaps you start your day in your pajamas in hopes of getting ready after checking a few minor things off of your to-do list. But as with most days, things don’t exactly go according to plan as you once again find yourself engrossed in a new project followed by back-to-back zoom calls that span from the early morning to late evening. Suddenly a day that started with hopeful optimism now looks dismal as you have missed the very small permissible window of time to shower, get dressed, or let alone there eat.
Now you find yourself prioritizing work over self-care, as you have made a habit of eliminating one of the very practices that supported your well-being, exercise. Just like that, what was once a cornerstone of your morning routine had now fallen by the waist-side to make more room for work.
Exhausted, hungry, and frustrated, you push through, as you long to steal some semblance of time to step and away from your computer. Only the likelihood of it is highly unlikely.
Dazed and Confused
Next thing you know you get an alert that you have two critical meetings set at opposing times. Now you are forced to tap into your creativity as you now have to quietly devise a way to attend both at the same dam time. Only it’s late in the day and you literally have no more to give, as you’re fully tapped out. Then literally out of what appears to be nowhere, you begin to get a persistent annoying ache in the right temple of your head. And that’s not all, suddenly distinct burning pangs begin to emerge in intermittent waves at the very pit of your stomach.
What started off as a mere whisper is now a disruptive loud roar to garner your attention. Suddenly it dawns on you that your hunger has reached the point of no return, as you are now officially hangry, with no signs of it subsiding. Perhaps, within the midst of your discomfort, you suddenly feel an immense wave of fatigue rush over you as you proceed to yarn incessantly, all the while tears begin streaming down your face.
Next thing you know you are wiping away tears while trying to maintain even an ounce of focus as you endeavor to push through the exhaustion to get the work done. On all accounts, your mind is willing, but your body and mental fortitude can literally do no more as, as you have failed to nourish your body. Exhausted, and befuddled, you finally decide to listen to your body and give in.
Increasing Your Awareness
After being pushed to the brink of practically passing out, you are finally willing to step away from the computer and take care of yourself. So you raise your head up from your focused stance and take a deep breath for what feels is the first time this day. You glance down at your clothes and across the room and notice not only do you still have your pajamas, but it’s also 6:30 pm I’m the f******* evening.
Not only have you not eaten or bathed but you have literally sat in the same spot all day and done nothing for yourself. For all intense and purposes, you have not only starved yourself, but you have also denied yourself the basic elements of self-care. Suddenly feelings of shame, flow through your awareness, filling your being with guilt and embarrassment.
Mindfulness A Likely Approach
This is but a snippet of the countless ways in which open accessibility can unconsciously weave itself into our experience, subjecting us to the perils of workplace stress and burnout. These accounts are reminiscent of the various instances I encountered throughout my career. Of which, the obligation to adhere to workplace norms often led me down the downward spiral of workplace stress and exhaustion.
We often hold our well-being captive, to fit in with the unspoken norms. How many times have you experienced a situation where you compromised your beliefs in order to fit into the workplace norms at the expense of your well-being so that you would be more favorably viewed when it comes time for your annual review?
Herein lies the question will you surrender to what your mind-body, and spirit are calling you for you to do, or will you remain committed to the hustle. Regrettably, sometimes my answer was no as I would often push myself to the very edge at the expense of my health to keep pace with the constant demands that rally for us to put everything and everyone above ourselves, in spite of the intuitive knowing that calls for us to pause, listen, and do exactly what honors our well-being.
4 Ways to use Mindfulness to Digitally Disconnect
1. Increase Awareness
We can be so so focused on striving to achieve that we can misplace our awareness of everyone and everything else but ourselves. In the case of work, we can be so focused on being responsive to those around us that we neglect to care for ourselves.
Beyond everything else, we must tend to our well-being. It all begins with increasing our self-awareness of what we are experiencing on a moment-by-moment basis. In the case of being constantly connected and overly accessible, we must increase our awareness of what we need.
In the case of hungry, fatigue, and rest, observe what your body needs and comply. We are better able to function when we supply the body, and mind, with what it needs, without compromise. Much like where you observe a safety demonstration on a plane, you cannot tend to others until you ensure that you first tend to yourself.
2. Release Comparision
A lot of self-criticism and judgment arises from comparing yourself to others. In the case of being on a team where your co-workers appear to be investing substantial hours beyond the typical workday, comparison can make you feel many things that can make you deny yourself adequate self-care.
This can prompt you, to create habits of working non-stop, without rest, food, or any basic self-care (bathing, and getting dressed). We are each unique emanations of the Divine. Meaning there is only one you, therefore, there’s no comparison.
3. Define Clear Boundaries
Work, situations, and circumstances, can encroach on our self-care practices. In the case of work, prioritizing it over tending to your daily self-care practices, can affect your overall well-being. Increasing your awareness around what you are experiencing at the moment equips you to know exactly what you need. In the case of constantly being available and connected, this provides little space to allow you to consciously self-adjust, and prioritize your well-being. Working non-stop, along with ignoring subtle cues to slow down, will not make the discomfort you feel go away.
Meaning if you experience faint signs of hunger, and do not eat within a reasonable period of time, your body will compensate allowing you to continue to function. However, if too much time passes and the body, and mind, reach a point of no return, it will begin to shut down. In other words, intense symptoms (ie., headaches, low blood sugar, fainting, decreased concentration, etc) ensue, and until you practice adequate self-care (ie., rest, eat, and disconnect from the stress-inducing activity). Above all else, create defined boundaries that support and honor your health.
4. Rest
There is a misconception that prioritizing the hustle over rest yields success. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Our bodies thrive with adequate rest. Constantly being connected doesn’t allow adequate time for you to disconnect and recharge. If but for a few minutes at a time, take time throughout the day to disconnect and rest both your eyes and your mind.
When your body gives you an indication that it needs a reprieve, comply. There are no specific rules or requirements. However, the simplest actions can make a significant difference. If you find yourself sitting, and working in the same spot, make a habit of getting up and moving around in between meetings. Movement is medicine. In addition, rest your eyes by stepping away from the computer and closing them for a few minutes at a time. Above all listen to your body, and practice creative ways of supporting your needs.