What causes hyper-productivity and digital burnout among employees? What corporates can do!

For most individuals, as the world is rapidly turning digital, the work and consequently the hyper-productivity has now summed up into a non-ending exposure to screens in the form of video calls, working on laptops, mobile phones, etc.

While an increasing number of companies have started to wake up to health and wellness issues, industry leaders say due to a lack of appropriate knowledge and awareness, companies are trying to resolve these issues in a very uninformed and ad hoc manner largely driven by an in-house HR or employee group.

Experts say the pandemic has pushed working professionals to push their capacities in a rather unhealthy manner, leading them to a state of hyper-productivity. While trying to get the most out of their day, perform well, people tend to compromise on their wellbeing. This does not just mean physical repercussions on health but also mental and emotional trouble.

Diving deep into the topic, Amit Vasistha, Founder and CEO, GALF, a wellness aggregator, explains further that since the fine line that existed between work and life has gone away, there is a feeling of constantly being in a state of work, perpetually thinking about what has to be done next, resolving issues and delivering work.

“There is no pause in this process anymore and hence it is called hyper-productivity,” he said.

“This is causing a digital burnout with effects like many physical health concerns, emotional and mental behavioural issues,” Vasistha added.

But the question arises: What has led working professionals to push their capacities in an unhealthy manner?

According to RamaKrishna V, CHRO, Home First India, a housing finance company, there are two reasons: intrinsic and extrinsic. On the intrinsic side, he said, “As we see a great boom in the standard of living, the material comforts etc growing, the employees feel the need to go for it and the only way is by working harder than yesterday and all this in the short term comes from sacrificing quality time and spending more hours at work leading to burning out.”

On the extrinsic side, he said, “Companies today are in a hyper-competitive environment, what worked yesterday may not work today and there are organisations that go out of business overnight. Given the situation, they tend to overwork the employee, create unnecessary stress, and keep shifting the goal post.”

Rajnish Virmani, Managing Partner, Positive Momentum India, a management consultancy firm, opines management teams over the years have created a variety of cultures across organisations, but variable incentives are quite common in any case.

“Whether companies follow the carrot or the stick philosophy, employees do stand to gain large bonuses or lose face with peers or even their jobs in this competitive world,” he said.

Further, as the market vagaries enhance the pressure of increasing financial numbers, Virmani said caring for employees takes a back seat for leaders. “Consequently, we get unfit employees who are perpetually tired mentally and looking out for breaks, rather than enjoying the present moment,” he added.

Need for a deeper and more holistic intervention

Wellness, as a concept, is relevant now more than ever, especially for corporates and working professionals who are constantly subjected to high-pressure environments. But regular fitness programmes, the same old marathons, motivational emailers, a nutritionist on board are not the remedy to this increasingly problematic situation.

Experts highlight the needs for a deeper and more holistic intervention every corporate needs to indulge in.

Vighnesh Shahane, MD and CEO, Ageas Federal Life Insurance, believes that as a caring corporate, companies need to put their employees first and ensure that they feel comforted and supported during these challenging times.

“Concern and care for our employees centres around three pillars – Physical health, Mental health and Financial health. From a physical health standpoint, an organisation should encourage its employees to focus on their physical fitness through regular exercise and proper diet,” he said.

He further said mental health is also an important component of one’s overall wellness and a caring organisation can assist with initiatives such as tele-consult with professional counsellors.

Lastly, from a Financial fitness standpoint, Shahane said with employees worrying about their jobs and salaries, it’s crucial to support them with measures such as a timely appraisal process, regular salary disbursement, insurance coverage benefits etc.

Vasistha, GALF, propounds the hyper-productivity and digital burnout related impact and consequential remedies are not one size fits all.

While he agrees that there are general patterns that can be managed uniformly, however, he said, there is a need for a more structured and strategic approach dependent on various factors like job levels, job types, age category, gender, other relevant geographical and ergonomic parameters.

“As a starter, there is a need to have a structured employee wellness policy and plan to help the employees understand the nuances of working in a new normal. Wellness has to be embraced as a culture of the company and has to be steered right from the top of the company,” Vasistha said.

Echoing the same, Girish Bindra, Ultra Marathoner and Head Coach, ASICS Running Club, said, companies need to devise a specialised policy and plan to address the physical, mental, emotional, financial and nutritional aspects of wellness.

“Make sure that employees feel rewarded for getting engaged in wellness endeavours. Tech-based gamification that promotes mind-body usage techniques like step challenge can be very simple and helpful,” he added.