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If employees feel like they have to be always on at work, the problem isn’t the constant connectivity enabled by technology.
Sure, technology is so effortless to use that, left to its own devices (pun intended), overuse is an easy trap to fall into. Thanks to mobile devices, email and messaging apps, people are able to check messages after work (83%), send emails during a meal with family and friends (50%), and even take their work devices on vacation (66%), according to one survey.
But if employees are struggling to disconnect, it’s not because technology is forcing them to. It’s because of a dysfunctional workplace that makes them feel they have to be constantly available.
Employers should beware of breeding this “cycle of responsiveness,” as consultant turned-professor Leslie Perlow calls it (more on that below) because it’s terrible for productivity. Being always on can make us clinically depressed and leads to burnout.
Workplaces can break the cycle of responsiveness to keep their staff healthy and productive.
What Is the Cycle of Responsiveness?
In her book "Sleeping with Your Smartphone," Perlow describes the cycle of responsiveness as when employees adjust to the demands of their work by changing their “schedules, the way they work, and even the way they live their lives and interact with family and friends.” It looks like this:
- People here are always connected.
- Reducing control over one’s time.
- To get ahead, I need to always be available.
- Increasing expectations to be always on.
Organizations that permit a cycle of responsiveness are driving their employees to distraction. When employees encounter the high expectations and low control associated with the cycle of responsiveness, they can become depressed. When people feel bad, they rely on distractions to escape their pain and regain a sense of control.
Here are three things leaders can do to break the cycle of responsiveness.
Related Article: Always On, Too Many Meetings: Is This the Future of Hybrid?
Set Clear Parameters
The more people send messages at odd hours, the more normal it becomes. It’s routine: first thing we do in the morning, last thing we do at night. Even if we’re not in the office, it’s with us all day, every day.
Employees aren’t going to stop sending after-hours messages unless their employers firmly discourage it.
Implement a company-wide quiet period of an hour or two every day, during which everyone can ignore emails and set their status to Away. Or encourage employees to create and publicize their own quiet hours as long as it doesn’t interfere with meetings and other responsibilities.
When Perlow began her research at the Boston Consulting Group, where employees worked round the clock and high employee turnover was an issue, she suggested that one team take a single predictable night off weekly. Workers eagerly embraced the idea, and they were able to figure out how to structure their days to make it possible without inhibiting their productivity.
The best thing leaders can do to ensure employees follow this practice is to practice it themselves: Regularly log off after hours and never read or respond to emails on weekends or holidays.
If leaders exemplify logging off, employees will be much more willing and able to do the same. Company culture flows from the top down. People pay attention to what leaders say and do.
Related Article: What Are Meetings Costing You?
Open Channels for Discussion
While setting hard boundaries for work hours is a great step, don’t just dictate a new rule — include employees in that and other decisions about the work culture. Workplaces can create an environment where employees feel management is listening to their concerns and is open to their feedback.
There are many ways to solicit feedback, such as having an ongoing anonymous survey or a channel in a messaging app like Slack or Teams where people can drop suggestions. No one type of channel is better than the other as long as it helps individual employees believe their voices matter.
A feeling of powerlessness, an internal trigger that pushes people toward distraction, accompanies the cycle of responsiveness. When workplaces replace powerlessness with a sense of agency and control, they remove that internal trigger to distraction, thereby increasing productivity.
Related Article: Bothered and Bewildered by Notifications? It's OK to Opt Out
Make Employees Feel Safe to Speak
If employees are given a channel to provide feedback on work culture, but they fear reprisals for sharing their thoughts, they won’t share anything.
They first need to feel “psychological safety,” a sense of security that comes from knowing that they will not be punished for raising concerns. It’s a requirement if you want to abolish the cycle of responsiveness and give employees the freedom to do their best work.
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Some ways to build psychological safety include:
- Frame the journey toward a better work culture as a “learning problem” that requires participation from everyone. Leaders should solicit employee feedback to show they want and need their opinion.
- Never punish an employee for sharing feedback — even if it feels personal and painful. Leaders should commit to hearing it with an open mind.
- Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, admit you don’t know something, or be vulnerable with coworkers and employees. This encourages others to open up in the same way and builds trust.
There is no point in employees being always on when it only depletes their battery and decreases productivity to boot. This holiday season and beyond, help employees to recharge to their best selves. Tell them to leave those laptops closed.