Digital Health and Wellness
Digital health and wellness is the pursuit of an intentional and healthy relationship with technology. With many jobs and everyday activities relying on the internet and digital devices, digital wellness aims to promote healthy use habits and assist the user in maintaining a healthy lifestyle (Citrix, n.d.).
Why are digital health and wellness important?
The growing popularity of digital health and wellness is linked to increased technology use and mental health issues, including attention and behavior problems (Citrix, n.d.).
Excessive technology usage is linked with burnout, suggesting supervisors should adopt tools and practices that moderate technology usage to promote healthier life and work (Citrix, n.d.).
Stronger employee engagement and higher productivity:
By promoting digital wellness through digital workspace technologies that encourage focus and reduce distraction, organizations can reduce employees' exhaustion and improve their engagement and productivity (Citrix, n.d.).
Improved employee satisfaction:
Many employees identify better work-life balance as essential to job satisfaction, and digital wellness is an important part of this balance. By adopting digital well-being practices such as unplugged white space time and flexible work arrangements, organizations can improve staff satisfaction (Citrix, n.d.).
Better health outcomes:
A lack of attention to digital health can lead to tech addiction, which is linked to higher stress levels and anxiety. If workers face burnout from excessive technology use, they are more likely to take sick days and be less confident at work. By focusing on digital well-being, employees can mitigate these risks and enjoy better mental and physical health outcomes (Citrix, n.d.).
What is an example of digital health and wellness?
Common digital wellness practices include using screen time limits, blue-light-blocking glasses to alleviate eyestrain, and muting notifications on mobile devices to prevent constant interruptions. It is also important to maintain healthy habits with physical activity, diet, and sleep (Citrix, n.d.).
On the organizational level, companies can promote digital health and wellness by planning white space time on employee calendars. This is designated “unplugged time,” when employees can avoid using screens and other digital technology at work, choosing instead to focus on face-to-face meetings, brainstorming, and other mindfulness activities (Citrix, n.d.).
What technology supports digital wellness?
Modern digital workspaces can support digital wellness. By bringing together all the apps and files an employee needs to be productive, digital workspace technology minimizes many distractions that can negatively impact digital well-being (Citrix, n.d.).
To promote digital wellness, these modern workspaces can also use microapps to streamline and automate simple work tasks. This promotes digital wellness by letting employees focus on meaningful work instead of being interrupted by requests to approve routine expense reports or RSVP for calendar invites. This can improve stress employees and anxiety at work while helping workers to get more meaningful work done in less time (Citrix, n.d.).
What’s the relationship between digital wellness and digital well-being?
While overuse of technology has a negative impact on digital wellness, there are several digital well-being apps and technology designed to support digital health. These digital well-being apps encourage users to be aware of their relationship with technology and offer tools and tips to help people use digital technology more consciously (Citrix, n.d.).
For example, digital wellness apps and technology can tell users how many hours of screen time they have had over a fixed period. If screen time has risen beyond the user’s average or healthy limits, the digital well-being app can alert them to take a break. It is also common for digital wellness apps to filter out excessive cell phone notifications or messages that can distract users (Citrix, n.d.).
