Clinically reviewed by Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, MBA, Chief Clinical Officer, Calm
While the world grapples with the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence, a more basic challenge remains unresolved: building healthy boundaries with digital technology itself. In the workplace, digital tools and apps are essential for getting work done, but they’re also a major source of distraction, overload, and fractured attention.
Beyond workplace tools, constant device use and social media can be all-consuming for employees and their children alike, disrupting sleep, eroding focus, and straining mental well-being.
That’s not just an issue for families at home but also a concern for organizations focused on improving workforce well-being and productivity. The good news is that employers can take steps to help employees and their children set boundaries with technology and build healthier digital habits.
Digital noise distracts and overloads employees
A day in the life of a typical knowledge worker involves a steady stream of email notifications, instant messages, calendar reminders, and alerts from project-management and collaboration apps. One study found that nearly half of all employees are distracted by a digital workplace notification at least once every 30 minutes; for almost a third, it happens at least once every 15 minutes.
Interruptions are costly. Research shows that constantly switching from one task to another slows us down and makes us more error-prone and less productive, especially if the switches happen rapidly. A study out of the University of California, Irvine showed that people who were constantly interrupted in their work experienced a heavier workload and more time pressure, frustration, effort, and stress.
But alerts and notifications are just part of the distraction problem; typical knowledge workers also face tool sprawl that forces them to jump between apps and platforms up to 1,200 times per day. And contrary to popular belief, AI tools are increasing the time employees spend in email, chat, messaging, and business-management tools while decreasing their average daily focus time, which boosts the risk of stress and burnout.
Finally, smartphones remain a major source of distraction for employees at work and beyond. News feeds, video reels, social posts, and memes entertain, inform, and hijack our attention and focus from work, negatively affecting productivity and mental health. In fact, overuse of social media can interfere with sleep, cause increased irritability, and heighten feelings of anxiety and depression.
Digital strain is harming employees’ families, too
Of course, the pull of digital devices and social media is also taking a toll on the mental health of children, adding to the emotional strain that working parents bring into their day. According to the CDC, about half of U.S. teenagers have four or more hours of daily screen time, and this level of screen usage is associated with higher rates of anxiety and depression symptoms.
What’s more, studies have shown a consistent association between digital media use and risks to child and adolescent health and development. According to a review and analysis of 153 longitudinal studies, social media use was associated with higher levels of depression symptoms, self‑injury, and substance use, as well as lower self‑perception and reduced academic achievement.
When employees and their children are all feeling the strain of the digital world, stress can compound and show up at work in the form of reduced focus, well-being, and productivity and a higher risk of burnout. Employers have both the incentive and the opportunity to make a positive impact.
How employers can help employees and their families struggling with the digital world
Here are some practical steps you can take at your organization to help employees and their families establish healthier digital boundaries and habits.
- Normalize the conversation about digital overuse and strain
Acknowledge digital overwhelm as a shared challenge rather than a personal failing. For instance, social media apps are designed to lure us in and hold our attention through endless feeds, alerts, and algorithm‑driven content. When leaders openly recognize how hard it is to disconnect, employees feel more comfortable naming their own challenges and seeking support.
Encourage managers to model healthy digital boundaries, talk openly in team settings about digital fatigue, and reinforce the fact that struggling with tech overuse is a common human experience, not a sign of weakness. - Model healthy digital boundaries as leaders
Leaders can play an important role in shaping how employees relate to technology. When leaders set clear digital boundaries—pausing after-hours messaging or designating no-notification hours, for example—they signal that constant availability isn’t an expectation.
Ask the leaders and managers in your organization to model and communicate their digital boundaries and habits to their teams. Simple practices such as blocking focus time on calendars, limiting late‑night emails, or taking device‑free breaks help normalize healthier digital habits across the team. When employees see leaders protecting their own attention and well‑being, they may feel inspired and permitted to do the same. - Reduce digital-tool sprawl in the workplace
It’s easy to accumulate digital tools without recognizing the toll on employees. Consider conducting an internal audit with the goal of understanding how apps and tools are used and where there’s overlap or redundancy.
To streamline workflows and digital communications, encourage teams to standardize on specific platforms and apps and turn off nonessential notifications. Aligning on a single messaging platform or project-management tool can reduce digital noise and support healthier work habits. - Support families with practical tools to foster healthy digital habits
Equip employees with simple, ready‑to‑use resources that make it easier to guide teens toward healthier digital habits. Curate guides and tip sheets from reputable sources to help families set boundaries, talk about online behavior, and navigate social media use. Consider hosting short webinars or lunch‑and‑learn sessions on digital well‑being and online safety so parents can easily access expert guidance.
Calm Health, a digital mental health solution, features a program specifically designed to help people* create a more balanced relationship with their phone and protect their mental health as they navigate the digital world. - Encourage a bedtime routine without screens
To help employees and their families avoid insomnia linked to social media use, offer guidance for creating healthy bedtime routines that don’t involve screens. Reading a book, meditating, or listening to calming music are great alternatives to scrolling through social media before bed.
Calm Health offers clinically based sleep programs developed by renowned sleep experts. These programs educate listeners about how sleep works and provide meaningful tips and tools to help them cultivate healthy sleep habits for better sleep. Calm Health also features an extensive library of Sleep Stories for families. - Adopt easy-to-access mental health and mindfulness support
It’s easy to turn to digital media when we’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, depressed, or lonely. But you can give employees and their families access to digital resources that can truly support them rather than serve as a temporary escape route. Digital mental health solutions offer instantly accessible support anytime, anywhere to help people with a wide range of emotional and mental health challenges.
For example, Calm Health features evidence-based programs to support people* experiencing mental health challenges, chronic health conditions, and difficult life experiences. It also connects users to Calm’s library of mindfulness resources—e.g., breathing exercises, music, and meditations—to help them relax, rebalance, focus, build resilience, and establish healthy routines at home and at work.
Employers can take the lead in shaping healthy digital interaction
Digital technology is vital to the smooth operation of core workplace functions. It’s also an endless source of information and entertainment. At the same time, digital noise and demands can easily overwhelm us and take us off course mentally and emotionally, in and beyond the workplace.
As primary adopters of digital technology, employers have the opportunity to help shape how individuals and families interact with it. By normalizing conversations about digital strain, modeling healthier boundaries, streamlining workplace tools, and equipping families with practical resources, employers can help reduce the digital strain that many are feeling. These steps can help protect mental health and foster a more focused, resilient, and productive workforce.
*You must be 13 years of age or older to use Calm Health if you reside in the United States, or 18 years of age or older if you reside elsewhere.
