E -maly, news, visio … with multiplication of communication channels are increasingly demanded by employees, generating “HyperConnection” with great consequences for mental and physical health. Especially because this “practice becomes habit”, according to the study.
E -mail, notifications, video conferencing … Permanent connection with screens and multiplication of communication means “endless” working days by permanent interruption, with great consequences on mental and physical health, warning experts and several recent studies.
According to Microsoft’s recent global report, which measured the use of digital tools by 31,000 “knowledge workers” in 31 countries, including France, “the average employee now receives 117 e -mails and 153 team messages a day”.
During working hours, employees are “interrupted on average every two minutes – ie 275 times a day – meetings, e -maly or cat announcements”, according to this study based on “Microsoft productivity signals” approved and anonymized “by a software giant.
HyperConnection significantly extends the working day: The company suggests that “40% of employees consult their e -mail before 6:00” and 29% around 22:00.
Sleep disorders, feeling of constant pressure …
In France, 65% of employees claim to be dependent on the screens and their corporate negotiations to limit their connections to only 16% of them, according to a study conducted by VIAVOICE for the Verbateam health prevention company.
Also, three -quarters of 1,000 people interviewed for this study declare that “they have already felt negative effects associated with their digital use”, especially sleep disorders (for 76%), concentration problems (77%), permanent pressure (78%) or “stress and anxiety with respect to digital requirements”.
“We see that this phenomenon not only deteriorates, but also there is a quite amazing trend in trivialization, even the appreciation of this HyperConnection in business,” said Verbateam Floream CEO.
“Indeed, there is a practice that becomes dependent”, according to her dependence is defined as “compulsive need, chronic use and, above all, loss of control”.
35-45 years more affected than the youngest
“Service companies are much more influenced than companies with 3×8 regimes,” says Isabelle Tarta, President of the Federation of Psychosocial Risks (FirP).
“Before we went to the customer, we had a meeting in the morning, a meeting in the afternoon, but on the same day it was not four to five big meetings. As for the mental burden, it has not yet been well analyzed,” she said. The specialist adds that she even met bus and metro drivers “who will start to treat e -maly at the end of their work.
“Unlike what we think, they are not according to tight flore, but” rather playing the environment, 35-45 years “, the most affected generations”, while “young people ultimately have a slightly greater perspective”.
Battle for the right to disconnect
However, the right to disconnects, for which the law of 8 August 2016 (known as El Khomri), however, provides for the obligation to negotiate in companies from 50 employees, is far from effective, despite the charters signed in business.
According to the latest survey published on Monday, the Union of CA CADR and Technicians (Ugict) (UGIC) would “want to have the right to effectively disconnect their privacy and health”, an increased share of 11 points compared to 2016.
Whatever the situation in its society, employees “have the right to be achievable outside their working hours, regardless of the existence of an agreement,” reminds Pauline Mureau, a lawyer in social law in the Voltaire law firm.
“However, rest periods are not always respected, which generates relatively large lawsuits with risks relatively important to employers,”, according to a lawyer.
He explains that the employee “will simply be able to submit the e -mail he received or sent to justify that he was contacted and responded at 23 o’clock and that he answered at 8 am”.
(Tagstotranslate) HyperConnection