Digital Guardrails: Why The Success Of Your Change Program Could Depend On Them with Dr Kristy Goodwin

Are you feeling burnt out?  Are you working from home or does your organisation have a hybrid model in place?  How’s that working out for you?

So many transformation programs are digitally-enabled these days and our reliance on technology is greater than ever before… And so many of us are struggling, stuck in a cycle of unsustainable digital habits.

My guest on The New Way podcast today is Dr Kristy Goodwin.  

Dr Kristy Goodwin is a speaker, author, and media commentator who’s fascinated by how our always switched-on, digital culture is compromising our wellbeing and is counter to optimal and sustainable organisational performance and learning.

Get ready! Kristy is an expert on this stuff and she shares a wealth of info in this episode.

We cover:

  • The digital habits that could be keeping you stressed and burnt out

  • What leaders can do to better align our new ways of working in this hybrid world with getting the best out of people

  • Why you need to set up digital guardrails with your team - and exactly what those are

  • How to switch off at the end of the day guilt and fear free

(By the way, Kristy doesn’t suggest phone bans or digital detoxes.  She says those are unrealistic and don’t work.)

There’s so much gold in this episode for change leaders and change managers alike.  I know you’ll love it!

Take a listen now.


TOPICS DISCUSSED AND WHERE TO FIND THEM:

[2:52]: Employee engagement is a major focus for organisations. There are so many change and transformation programs that are digitally enabled and our reliance on technology is greater than ever before. 

[4:12]: Kristy refers to it as digital burnout. The global burnout study stated that 34.7% of knowledge workers are presenting with clinical symptoms of burnout. Employees are struggling with the constant changes and the shift from remote to hybrid work presents new challenges with reliance on technology. 

[5:23]: Technology is constantly bombarding our days. Digital burnout is so prevalent because our digital load has increased and we’ve created and embedded a culture where we are always ‘on’. 

[5:57]: Back to back virtual meetings and constant messages and emails stop people from doing any deep work. 

[6:14]: We have embraced digital ways of working that are incongruent with our neurobiology. 

[7:30]: Organisations have to find ways of working that match our neurobiological needs and our biological blueprint. 

[8:03]: Notifications and alerts are contributing to digital burnout. Information is constantly being thrust at us. They’re microstresses and they trick our brain into thinking they’re urgent and important. 

[9:12]: In our constantly digitally bombarded world, we don’t have short bursts of stress and we don’t close the stress cycle. 

[9:57]: It takes the average adult 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back into a deep focus state after being distracted. 

[10:34]: Digital wellbeing is possible. We need to use the digital devices (both personal and professional) in ways that are congruent with our biological blueprint. We need to use technology in ways that support our physical health, mental wellbeing and performance. 

[11:27]: The blue light from our devices is having a detrimental impact on our sleep. Come up with your digital guardrails, what are the times of the day you will use technology and when won’t you? 

[13:20]: The most important thing leaders can do is establish their organisation’s digital guardrails. The unspoken expectations of employees and digital presenteeism lead to digital burnout. The organisation’s digital guardrails are your team agreements, the digital norms, practices and protocols around how you’ll use technology. 

[15:20]: If you have an articulated escalation plan, you know there will be 1 channel for communication if there is an incident (such as a phone call). 

[18:06]: The true benefit for knowledge workers is around flexibility in our schedules. 94% of knowledge workers want flexibility around when they work, 78% want flexibility around where they work. 

[18:37]: Our chronotype is our biological predisposition to be alert and focused at particular times of the day: The lark (early bird), the middle bird (energy between 10am and 3pm), and owls (energy at late afternoon and into the evening). 

[20:07]: Our productivity skyrockets when we’re working within our biological blueprint. 

[20:53]: Get your team to identify their dominant chronotype. 

[22:26]: 67% of people struggle to disconnect. We’re biologically designed to work in sprints not marathons. We need to take peak performance pit stops. In the online world, we never feel like we’re done or complete. 

[24:21]: We have to create rituals that send a message to our brain that the day is done. Kristy takes us through examples you can incorporate into your day. 

[26:15]: Where to find and connect with Kristy.

CONNECT WITH DR KRISTY GOODWIN:

Check out Dr Kristy Goodwin’s blog post on Why your hybrid team needs digital guardrails

Website: https://drkristygoodwin.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drkristy/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-kristy-goodwin/

CONNECT WITH ME:

Website: https://www.everchange.com.au/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ever-change-and-communication

Kate Byrne