The demands of the modern workplace can often feel overwhelming. With the rapid adoption of technology, there are increasing expectations to be constantly connected and always available, giving rise to the “always-on” culture of work.

However, spending extra time working does not always equate to better productivity. This article explores why this constant connectivity is detrimental to your productivity and provides suggestions on disconnecting and recharging.

What Is the Always-On Culture of Work, and How Does It Hurt Your Productivity?

The term “always-on” culture refers to the expectation that employees are always available and responsive to work demands, even outside traditional 9-5 work hours.

To satisfy those demands and expectations, and avoid feeling guilty for letting your boss down, you pick up your work laptop to do the “quick” task. As a result, you work late into the night, only to find that your workday tomorrow starts with an inbox full of new messages and tasks.

It’s even more alarming that each notification perpetuates this vicious cycle, forcing you to stay up late or give up weekend activities with loved ones to meet your job’s demands. But it does not just affect your downtime; these continuous pings and expectations to be always available can promote context switching, which sabotages your productivity even during work hours.

Here is how the always-on culture of work is detrimental to your well-being and productivity:

  • Constant connectivity interrupts deep work and focus.
  • The always-on expectations take a toll on your mental well-being, leading to stress and work burnout.
  • It fragments your time, leading to poorer time management skills.
  • The pressure to be always available can result in subpar work quality.
  • It negatively affects your personal life and relationships.
  • It makes you hate your job.

Considering all the negative impacts of the always-on culture of work on your wellness and productivity, it is vital to take steps to regain control over your time and productivity.

How to Disconnect From the Constant Connectivity to Your Work

Having extra work hours or being available at all times does not always mean getting more quality work done. In fact, you might be getting less work done when you are spread too thin. It is vital that you draw a line between busyness and productivity, and learn to disconnect and recharge to achieve more.

For the most part, this usually boils down to the lack of clear priorities/boundaries, an effective remote work schedule, or using work as an escape from personal stressors.

Here are a few tips to empower you to disconnect from the constant connectivity to your work:

1. Customize Your Communication Tools

Screenshot showing Slack's customization settings

You can start by looking at the internal communication tools you use, and customize them to set healthier boundaries that work for you.

Saying “no” to requests for your time is not the easiest thing to do, but it is essential to create boundaries that protect your time and productivity. Start by identifying your work hours and down period, and set your communication tools to “busy” or “away” accordingly.

Make sure that you are not responding to work emails or notifications outside your regular work hours. Consider this your signal to switch off from work mode, just like your commute home from the office.

For example, suppose you have set your work hours and other events on your Google Calendar. In that case, you can integrate it into your Slack workspace and customize your settings so that it automatically updates your Slack status based on your calendar.

You can take it a step further by customizing your Slack notification schedule so that you only receive notifications during your work hours.

2. Embrace Asynchronous Communication

Being online at all times won’t necessarily improve your work performance. One way to reduce the need for constant connectivity is to embrace asynchronous work. This type of communication allows you to respond to messages and requests on your own time, without feeling the pressure of having to reply instantly or being available at all times.

Asynchronous communication is a great way to manage your time and protect your uninterrupted work time, making it an effective productivity booster and a reliable antidote to the “always-on” expectations of work.

There are several asynchronous communication tools that you can leverage to safeguard your well-being and productivity, including Voodle, Twist, and Yac.

3. Adopt Wellness Practices

A man stretching his body

Work from home burnout is one of the consequences of the always-on culture of work. It is essential to adopt wellness practices that help you recharge and stay productive to combat this.

Some simple but effective wellness practices include meditation, journaling, walking, stretching, and taking time off. Make sure that you schedule time for these activities in your day so that they become part of your daily routine. You can use an app like Challenge Accepted to track, create, discover, and complete wellness challenges. You can add remote colleagues or friends to these challenges to make them more fun and motivating.

4. Redefine “Urgent” or “Important.”

It can be easy to get overwhelmed by the number of requests and notifications you receive, especially when they are all marked as “urgent” or “important.”

As a team, you need to redefine what urgency means to regain control over your time. Additionally, when every message or task is deemed urgent, it loses its importance and meaning over time.

As a team, take some time to discuss and agree on what should be considered urgent or important, and create a system or process to flag items that meet that criteria. This will help ensure that only genuinely urgent and important requests are brought to your attention, especially outside your work hours.

5. Maximize Your Productive Hours

A man sitting on an hourglass

Knowing your most productive hours of the day is vital, as it allows you to leverage them to get the most work done. For example, if you are an “early bird” whose productive hours are early in the morning, block that time to work on the most tedious tasks that require more focus and concentration. You can schedule the remaining tasks that are not as demanding for later in the day, when you might have less energy.

You can use the Pomodoro method or timeboxing to boost your productivity during those hours. This way, you significantly increase your chances of finishing daily tasks and meeting deadlines, without burning yourself out or spending your scheduled downtime working. This is possible because it empowers you to do more quality work in fewer, uninterrupted hours.

Create a Healthier Work-Life Balance to Boost Your Productivity

Switching off from work can be difficult, especially when you work remotely. However, you need to disconnect from work to recharge and avoid burnout.

To achieve a healthier work-life balance, it is essential to establish boundaries between your work and personal time, create routines that support your well-being, and use productivity tools and techniques that help you maximize your time.