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Psychological needs and mental well-being - Maintaining connection with the world around you (EQF: 3-5)


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Learning Outcomes

Objectives and goalsClick to read  

At the end of this module you will be able to:

Define digital well-being
Identify ways to maintain connection with your team
Identify rules for successful remote work communication
Determine activities for maintaining connection with world around you

Maintaining connection with world around you

Defining digital well-beingClick to read  

The rapid utilization of digital technologies and their acceptance by society has changed our relationships to ourselves, each other, and our environment.

Our well-being is closely connected with the state of our digital environment that mediates our interaction with it, which poses pressing questions concerning the impact of digital technologies on our well-being (Floridi, 2014).

„The term ‘digital well-being’ is used to refer to the impact of digital technologies on what it means to live a life that is good for a human being” (Burr et al., 2020)

There are plenty of opportunities to leverage everyday technology to improve one’s wellbeing and quality of life (Cecchinato et al. 2019). Technology can enhance wellbeing through:

• enhanceing social connectedness 
• supporting mental health
• providing enjoyment. 

There are many definitions of empathy and it is difficult to settle on a single one:

“The enhancement and improvement of human well-being, in the intermediate and long term, through the use of digital media.” (Gui et al., 2017)

„Digital wellbeing is a subjective individual experience of optimal balance between the benefits and drawbacks obtained from mobile connectivity. This experiential state is comprised of affective and cognitive appraisals of the integration of digital connectivity into ordinary life. People achieve digital wellbeing when experiencing maximal controlled pleasure and functional support, together with minimal loss of control and functional impairment.” (Vanden Abeele, 2021)

“the impact of digital technologies on what it means to live a life that is good for a human being” (Burr et al., 2020)

“the impact that digital technologies, such as social media, smartphones, and AI, have had on our well-being and our self-understanding of what it means to live a life that is good for us in an increasingly digital society” (Burr and Floridi, 2020)

Maintaining connection with your teamClick to read  

It’s important that companies create an environment where leadership and employees can stay connected while working from home. 

8 Things to stay connected with your remote team (https://www.flexjobs.com/employer-blog/stay-connected-team-working-from-home-remotely/):

• Coffee Chats

- encourage your employees to take regular virtual coffee breaks with the team to stay connected while working from home.

• Ask a Question of the Week

• Encourage Groups Chats

- your staff would appreciate the chance to connect with coworkers with similar interests
- set up some virtual groups to facilitate conversation

•  Virtual Lunches

- encourage staff to have a virtual lunch together

• Exchanges

- getting a package or letter in the mail.

• Company Contests

- a great way to get people together and encourage a little friendly competition

• Virtual Workouts

Remote work communicationClick to read  

Work from home trends have shaped how we connect with one another. Rules for successful remote work communication are (https://www.halfhalftravel.com/remote-work/stay-connected-while-working-from-home.html):

Communicate often.
Communicate when you have doubts.
Communicate when you have questions.
Communicate when you have concerns.
Communicate when you have feedback.
Communicate when you have results or successes.
Communicate your schedule.
Communicate updates.
Communicate eloquently.
Communicate clearly.

Connection with the outside worldClick to read  

„without regular human interaction (and digital interaction doesn’t quite cut it), your isolation will start to take a toll psychologically, emotionally, and professionally.” (https://www.kalido.me/how-to-stay-connected-while-working-from-home/)

Some tips for working from home (https://www.kalido.me/how-to-stay-connected-while-working-from-home/):

Consider a co-working space

- You will be surrounded by other professionals, and all the networking and collaboration opportunities that entails 
- Many co-working offices also have on-site cafés and restaurants

Catch up during lunch

- catch up with some friends or professional contacts

Join interest and sports clubs

- One danger of working alone is the increased possibility of stagnation. This could affect both your professional and personal life.  

Meet with clients and collaborators in person

- If you’re interested in making and maintaining good relationships (and relationships are after all the cornerstone of any successful business), you should be meeting up in person on a regular basis.

Take in-house projects

- Working in-house lets you see the inner workings of the organisation
 

Conclusions

Key takeawaysClick to read  

The term ‘digital well-being’ is used to refer to the impact of digital technologies on what it means to live a life that is good for a human being
Companies have to create an environment where leadership and employees can stay connected while working from home. 
Staying connected while working from home should come naturally
Regular human interactions are important for mental and physical health 


Test Yourself!



Description:

Our well-being is closely connected with the state of our digital environment that mediates our interaction with it, which poses pressing questions concerning the impact of digital technologies on our well-being. The term ‘digital well-being’ is used to refer to the impact of digital technologies on what it means to live a life that is good for a human being. This unit, entitled Maintaining connection with world around you, looks et the definitions of digital well-being. It also identifies ways to maintain connection with your team and rules for successful remote work communication. Finally, it determines activities for maintaining connection with world around you.


Keywords

Digital well-being, connection with your team, remote work communication


Bibliography

•    Burr, C., & Floridi, L. (2020). The ethics of digital well-being: A multidisciplinary perspective. In Ethics of digital well-being (pp. 1-29). Springer, Cham.
•    Burr, C., Taddeo, M., & Floridi, L. (2020). The ethics of digital well-being: A thematic review. Science and engineering ethics, 26(4), 2313-2343.
•    Cecchinato, M. E., Rooksby, J., Hiniker, A., Munson, S., Lukoff, K., Ciolfi, L., Theim, A. & Harrison, D. (2019, May). Designing for digital wellbeing: A research & practice agenda. In Extended abstracts of the 2019 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (pp. 1-8).
•    Gui, M., Fasoli, M., & Carradore, R. (2017). “Digital well-being”. Developing a new theoretical tool for media literacy research. Italian Journal of Sociology of Education, 9(1).
•    Vanden Abeele, M. M. (2021). Digital wellbeing as a dynamic construct. Communication Theory, 31(4), 932-955.
•    https://www.flexjobs.com/employer-blog/stay-connected-team-working-from-home-remotely/
•    https://www.halfhalftravel.com/remote-work/stay-connected-while-working-from-home.html
•    https://www.kalido.me/how-to-stay-connected-while-working-from-home/