Business

Is tech addiction making us far more stressed at work?

   By Padraig Belton Technology of Business reporter
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   And this "always on" culture - exacerbated by the smartphone - is
   actually making us more stressed and less productive, according to some
   reports.

   "Something like 40% of people wake up, and the first thing they do is
   check their email," says Professor Sir Cary Cooper of Manchester
   Business School, who has studied e-mail and workplace stress.

   "For another 40%, it's the last thing they do at night."
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   thing in the morning and last thing at night?

   And this is increasing our stress levels.

   So what can we do about it?
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Sweating the small stuff

   Wearable technology offers another way to help us manage our stress at
   work, according to some people.

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   on a dashboard.
   Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption Is "mindfulness" a low-tech
   way to deal with hi-tech stress?

   Along with the biometric data, students are being asked online how
   stressed and happy they feel. The idea is to see how perceived
   wellbeing and biotracking data affect academic performance.

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   In a similar vein, Irish start-up Galvanic has come up with Pip, a
   small, white device that measures skin perspiration - an indicator of
   stress according to many researchers.
   Image copyright Galvanic Image caption Galvanic's Pip gadget measures
   stress levels and communicates wirelessly with your phone

   A tiny electric current passed along your skin varies depending on your
   levels of perspiration. So if Pip detects an increase in sweaty-palmed
   stress levels, you can connect it wirelessly to your smartphone and
   play a short game. To win, you have to relax.

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   Biofeedback devices like these give people "a window into their
   physical response to stress, helping them learn to control it," says
   Ian Robertson, professor of psychology at Trinity College Dublin and
   chair of Pip's scientific advisory board.
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   In the US, "mindfulness" is all the rage as a way of coping with our
   stressful digital world.

   Google, Target, and the Marine Corps have all recently introduced
   meditation sessions in the workplace. Insurer Aetna found that just an
   hour a week of such activity reduced employees' stress levels by a
   third - and their healthcare costs by $2,000 (£1,400) a year.
   Image copyright Calm.com Image caption Calm.com's Michael Acton Smith