Your phone vibrates. It’s a message or an email from your boss. It’s four o’clock on a Sunday afternoon, outside working hours. You’re with your family, having lunch at a restaurant with friends. You tell yourself you won’t reply because it doesn’t seem urgent, but you can’t get it out of your head. Instead of enjoying the moment, you keep thinking about that message, feeling a subtle but constant pressure. This phenomenon is called e-anxiety.
In reality, this state of alert affects your emotional connection with your family. You keep checking your phone, mentally rehearsing possible replies and anticipating what your boss might think if you don’t respond. You know they are always checking emails, even on public holidays, at night, or over the weekend. This adds extra pressure: What will your boss think if you don’t reply?
You know your company well. You are aware that they have established a right to digital disconnection outside working hours, and you recall that there is even legislation supporting this. However, you also know your boss, and perhaps they expect you to reply. You’ve noticed that some colleagues respond outside working hours and are praised for it. Meanwhile, those who don’t might encounter obstacles in their career progression. Plus, everyone knows you always have your phone in hand.
This stress, pressure, or constant anxiety leads to exhausted employees, increasing the risk of burnout and contributing to a high percentage of workplace absences. It also affects family and personal relationships. This issue does not only harm you but also businesses and managers.
It is crucial for companies to understand the benefits of digital disconnection and the cost of overburdened employees. At the same time, you must learn to differentiate between urgency and importance, choose the right time to respond, manage your phone use, and evaluate your expectations and work demands. Doing so will help you optimise your energy and improve both your professional and personal relationships.
To balance the benefits of technology with the risks of hyperconnectivity, legislation requires companies to develop and implement a Digital Disconnection Protocol.