The four most common processes through which they increase the risk of employee phobia

Nomophobia is now commonly referred to as a mobile or smartphone-dependent disorder. It has emerged mainly because of the “always online” trend. However, the disease does not only have a negative effect on the psyche of a person who is under great stress. It also affects brain activity, work productivity, or behavior. Do you know the flaws it often implants in nomophobia?

With Nomophobia, we get into a situation where we fear losing a mobile phone signal or, for example, a phone battery being discharged. Simply put – we stress that we will not be able to use a mobile phone. However, the consequences are more serious than they seem. It’s not just a broken and stressed psyche. Nomophobics also exhibit impaired memory or the ability to focus, and as a result, they may have significantly worse academic or work outcomes. Excessive use of technology is no less associated with increased sleep disturbances, concentration, or increased procrastination. You would definitely say that if someone used the phone to a reasonable extent, nothing would happen. However, it is through exaggerated demands on employees that we can multiply the risks of succumbing to this phobia. As a good employer, you need to be aware of the limits of digital competence, as employees use technology at work so that it is useful to them, but still safe.

1. Messages 24/7

We often rely on employees in select positions to read emails throughout the day and then after work hours or even over the weekend. It’s also related to email communication content, as we often rush or wonder if the addressee doesn’t answer the question in the evening. “It is very difficult to set the right rules for corporate email communication. Of course it depends on the employee’s responsibility and the current situation.” JIP’s Jiří Jemelka says about companies that provide activation and interim management for small and medium-sized enterprises. “It is good to set the time and communicate it across the company, so that it becomes necessary to check and respond to the e-mail. The employee should not feel constant pressure and be responsible for checking incoming mail constantly and with fear that something important has not arrived yet. He must have a limit where he can rest completely. And stopping after work, that is, physically and mentally. Only in this way can he do an effective long-term action that fulfills it, ” Jemelka adds. If this is really an urgent issue, it is recommended to solve these moments over the phone, or notify an important email by SMS.

2. Unnecessary apps and notifications

Requests for business trips, task completion, internal communication, and other requests for financial management or attendance. We often require employees to use a relatively large number of different software programs and solutions. And of course, we want them to sync them across all the devices they use. Or so people in the company think it. Therefore, it is pertinent to identify which applications are really a necessity and which can further serve. To do this, it is a good idea to select the application that requires a lot of attention and fast sync, so it is not enough to have it on your desktop on your work computer, but we also need it on your phone or other smart devices. For example, when we are working outside the office. The fewer of them, the less attention the worker will be distracted from the various technological gadgets – computer, laptop, tablet and phone. This is closely related to setting notifications – not all of them definitely need to notify employees of all changes in real time, especially on the phone. For some, it’s definitely enough for them to receive an email of information one or more times a day with the changes and news made (ideally during business hours).

3. There is no “policy” regarding mobile phone use

It may seem like a shift back, but the so-called smart phone politics has become a relatively prominent trend in corporate culture, that is, the use of cell phones and smartphones during working hours and in the workplace in general. There are big players who have already completely banned cell phones at work, for example from outside it could be FedEx or General Motors. However, we can also find this practice in our neighbors, at the German engineering company Continental AG. In some industries today, we may not be able to completely eliminate cell phones in the workplace, however, according to experts, at least a set of rules helps. “It is very individual. The most common minimum is to turn off the audio and make phone calls in a private kiosk or at least outside the office. A ban on playing games. However, companies are gradually proving that they are restricted to some social networks, for example, if the workers are They don’t need it to work. It’s often Facebook and WhatsApp. It’s not about restricting someone, but it can help a lot in avoiding distractions, which employees can only expose by chatting on different types of messengers without being aware of it. “ Jemelka explains. According to doctors, with every notification or message running out on the screen, our brains are expelled from a tiny amount of dopamine, which prompts us to look at and read what happened to us on the screen. “ The aforementioned social networks do not need to be completely blocked, but if the company culture is well established, for example, a system could be introduced where employees’ notifications are turned off from communication apps, and if they want to use the app, then take a break and get out of work, for example to an area Relaxed, Jemelka concludes.

4. Lunch, meeting, education

A relatively common scandal is also the expectation that employees will be online even when they are not in a classic work post. There are then, for example, situations where an employee is educated internally, but in training or an English language lesson, he also resolves work emails and communicates on Slack or another network designed for employee chatting. So let the company know these are the moments when he doesn’t necessarily have a phone with them. The same should apply to your lunch breaks, in which case you should recommend or appeal to your employees to take a break from technology. Not using technology can also be fun in the case of internal meetings. Especially when it comes to creative sessions, where it is necessary to solve problems, come up with new strategies and ideas, or, for example, evaluate work. In these cases, it doesn’t hurt to go back to regular flipchart once in a while and leave the tech amenities on the desk in the office.

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