As the seasons change, have you noticed spring fever spreading throughout the workplace?
With longer days, you may find staff distracted by more than just how nice it is outside. Digital distractions can prevent your employees from completing work.
As such, you may be asking yourself: Can I limit distractions? How do I help staff “get off their devices” and be present during face-to-face interactions and meetings?
At the beginning of the school year, PEW Research Center shared a report on device distractions on teens and parents. One key takeaway is that parents are just as distracted by their devices as teens, with seven-in-ten parents reporting that their teens are distracted while half of teens surveyed shared the same about their parents.
What can you do to make sure digital tools are aiding employees in their work and not distracting from their responsibilities? Consider a few simple strategies to go from distracted to engaged:
Co-author an acceptable use policy. Your workplace has an acceptable use policy, but when was the last time you read it? Talk to employees about expectations, what’s considered a distraction and set goals together.
Model the behavior you want to see. If you’re not walking the walk, then your employees won’t either. Keep your phone off meeting tables, make eye contact and be an active listener.
Get physical and physically keep devices away. Ask meeting participants to distance themselves from devices or leave them at the door, but be sure to also build in digital breaks.
Track time using built-in apps on mobile devices such as iOS Screen Time or Android Digital Wellbeing.
Try an experiment. Instead of going on a “digital diet,” try gamifying results to build more challenges that get your teams closer to meeting organizational goals.
Want to hear more? Join me July 17 as I present “Raising Children in a Social Media Era” for FEI’s 2019 webinar series. Lessons on promoting and modeling improved behaviors in an always-on digital world apply to all ages—whether a student in the classroom or an employee at their desk. Register today!