Digital Crossroads

Digital Crossroads is an Erasmus + project bringing together partners from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Ireland and Germany. The overall goal of this programme is to enable SME managers to improve the digital wellbeing of their employees. Given the growth that SMEs are encouraged to follow and strong public policy on the importance of digital technology, it is not surprising that business leaders are generally pro-technology. However, growing scientific evidence shows that unconstrained use of digital devices can have negative consequences for businesses in terms of productivity /performance and employees' mental and physical health. Multitasking and the constant stream of notifications are associated with lower levels of creativity and concentration, and higher stress, while the google effect causes decreased memory efficiency. Collectively called "technostress", these issues are caused both by the technology AND by organisational expectations. The "always on" culture of checking emails at home or on holiday leads to worsened emotional states, poor work-life balance and burnout. Many large corporations are already addressing digital overload, via wellbeing policies within their HR /CSR work. In a 2018 study of 500 senior HR executives from global organisations, 70% stated that policies to promote digital wellbeing were important. A similar study, though, found that 82% of SME employers do NOT have any digital health or wellbeing policies nor plans to introduce them. Moreover, our own research showed the issue is so new that no enterprise development or business training providers currently offers structured guidance on the topic: they too are unaware and unequipped.
Social Link - Linkedin: http://www. linkedin.com/company /digital-crossroads-programme
Employee Count: 1
Keywords: education management