To call technology ubiquitous will not be wrong. Our entire lives revolve around technology; from food to healthcare to lifestyle, each aspect of our life is augmented with technology.
Similarly, technology has also become an important part of almost all workplaces, globally. While it has massively reduced workload and has made the banal, clerical work much easier. However, it has also had other important repercussions on the mind as well.
Is technology affecting your mental health?
As technology is a big part of our workplace, naturally it has a significant impact on our mental health as well. It may not be apparent to many of us; however, the presence of this rather profound impact cannot be discounted.
Regardless of the reason behind the jeopardized mental health, it is important here to mention that seeking timely help is of utmost importance. It is not possible to live without a healthy mind, and if for some reason you are suffering from mental health issues, it is pertinent to talk to the top psychiatrist in Lahore.
The negative impacts of technology on mental health
Screens and subsequent fatigue
Computers and laptops have become an important part of modern workplaces. Almost every employee has to spend hours on the screen, which can lead to digital eye strain. This in turn leads to backaches, fatigue, headaches etc. These problems greatly reduce the productivity of people.
Rather than focusing on getting better, they get stressed over their lack of output and reduced productivity. Moreover, pain resulting from this physical discomfort also leads to mental health issues.
People suffering from chronic pain are three times more likely to have depression. Moreover, chronic pain also leads to behavioral changes and mood swings as well.
Unhealthy work environment
An unhealthy work environment is very emotionally draining. It takes all the pleasure out of work, and all you are left with is ambition less robotic living. This can increase disposition towards unhappiness, depression and other factors that jeopardize mental health.
There are many ways technology is responsible for this unhealthy work-relationship. Not everyone is tech-savvy, and most workplaces call the employee out to learn new software to keep up. This imposes extra pressure on people who struggle with technology and may affect their work performance, due to which they start detesting work, despite being good at their job otherwise.
Moreover, due to technology, everyone is tied to their screens. Constant pinging of the emails prevents one from taking a breather. It also encourages isolation, as rather than sitting together and having social contact, people are asked to communicate through cold computers.
Always present work demands
While computers have significantly improved productivity by saving up on the precious time doing menial jobs, it has a big downside; your work is literally just a tap away. Hence, there is no relaxing time.
Your employers can and do reach you anytime of the day. Even when away on holidays, you are not away. This causes a lot of mental stress as one is not able to get the much-needed break from work.
Moreover, brain can form negative associations. So, whenever you look at your phone, your brain makes the connection of the work messages that await. Thus, your body goes into work stress zone even when not working.
Workaholism is enabled
Being a workaholic is not healthy, period. Previously, when people left their workplace, they literally left their work as well. Now, due to technology, space has become irrelevant. Most people carry their work in their phone and laptops, that are lugged around everywhere.
Therefore, technology can be blamed for enabling work-addiction. And much like other addictions, it is very unhealthy. It also severely impedes mental health. It also causes tensions amongst social relationships. As one is not able to give time to friends and family, naturally it leads to strained tied with others.
The subsequent emotional turmoil also leads to depression, anxiety and stress.
Harassment
Technology also poses another risk of greater chances and exposure to harassment. Done in virtual space, harassment is difficult to prove. Moreover, it is done in a system of hierarchy, whereby reporting it also leads to other backlashes like losing jobs, being ostracized or character assassination.
So, unless a safe workplace environment is provided, many people are vulnerable to harassment which greatly jeopardizes the mental health of the employees.
Burnout
With such ubiquitous presence of work tools, most employers know and utilize the fact that the staff can be reached easily, wherever, whenever. Hence, constant working and its imposition on physically and especially the mental health lead to burnout.
This can lead to a lot of mental health problems; the inability to work coupled with the mental torture that work becomes is hard to reconcile with the bills and the necessity of earning money.
It can also lead to sleep problems, which then perpetuates the mental health issues. However, rather than soldiering through and killing yourself in the process, it is best to talk to your friends and family or seek help from the best psychiatrist in Karachi in need be. But not addressing the issue will just make it worse.
