It is important to take stock to assess your digital wellbeing

There are numerous benefits to digital technology that have transformed our world, but it is important to acknowledge that it can also have a detrimental impact on people’s lives, therefore it is important to continually assess our digital wellbeing.

Digital wellbeing is a term used to describe the impact of technologies and digital services on people’s mental, physical, social and emotional health. It is a complex concept that can be viewed from a variety of perspectives and across different contexts and situations.

There is the individual perspective which is within a personal or work context. This involves identifying and understanding both the positive benefits and any potential negative aspects of engaging with digital activities and being aware of ways to manage and control these to improve wellbeing.

There is also the societal or organisational perspective whereby providers of digital systems, services and content have a responsibility for ensuring that these are well managed, supported, accessible and equitable. They also need to empower and build capability in users so that all who engage with them are equipped to do so in a way that supports and/or improves their wellbeing.

Although it is important for individuals to take control of their digital wellbeing, they may not always have the opportunity or the ability to manage the impact of technologies or digital services on their lives. For example, in employment contexts where staff may not be able to make changes, or in personal contexts where individuals may not have access to, or be included in, digital opportunities that could have a positive effect on their lives. It is also important to remember that individuals may not have the support or capacity to counteract negative effects of technologies. DIGITAL WORK WELLBEING

Positives • Improved communication • Global collaboration • Flexible working • Tools to manage workload • Tools to make things easier • Creating positive online professional identity • Links to other professionals/ subject networks Negatives • Digital overload • Always on (24-hour access) • Changes to job roles/activities • Automation of tasks (redundancy) • Poor ergonomics

Ways to positively enhance your digital experience in the workplace • Access and use appropriate training and guidance for digital systems and tools relevant to your role • Ask for training and support if there are gaps in the support that your organisation provides • Understand your own digital preferences and needs, including any mental or physical health challenges that can affect technology use • Take advantage of adjustable features such as screen contrast, text size, colour adjustments, and use of assistive technologies • Consider the impact of digital activities on your own health and take steps to avoid bad practices, such as observing good posture, taking regular screen breaks, adjusting monitor brightness, making sure you get enough sleep and avoiding addictive behaviours • Although technology can help to improve efficiency it can also create unrealistic expectations that support will be available 24:7 resulting in undue stress • By learning how to use digital tools more effectively and familiarise yourself with techniques and approaches, it is possible to manage emails and help avoid distractions. Making sure you know how to use digital equipment, tools, services and content safely • Managers should consider the impact of digital workload within staff appraisals, performance management and continuing professional development (CPD) activities • Ensure employees’ work environments are ergonomically designed and comply with health and safety requirements • Create and manage a positive digital identity (professionally and personally) and be mindful of your digital footprint

Emma Starmer

Digital Wellbeing

Remote access capability has been at the top of many business agendas over the last 2 years. With more employees working remotely and an increased interest in hybrid working arrangements, it is even more important to ensure your staff are looked after whether they are in the office or working elsewhere – ‘out of sight’ should never mean ‘out of mind’ when it comes to your employees’ wellbeing. Managers need to ensure they are aware of the hours their team members are working, and that they set appropriate guidelines around workloads and unnecessary out of hours contact. It is equally important to keep in regular contact with home-based and remote employees to ensure a healthy and productive environment is maintained wherever the location.

For example, at LA we encourage our staff to be aware of their own wellbeing, with initiatives centred on our employees. We hold a weekly meditation session available to all, we have trained Mental Health First Aiders and a range of employee benefits that incorporate wellbeing. We hold ‘wellbeing weeks’, featuring topics such as the menopause, men’s health and physical health and wellbeing. We also provide additional days off, such as birthdays and team CSR days.

But we know that sometimes just ensuring we get away from our screens regularly, take annual leave throughout the year and enjoy our lunch breaks away from our desks where possible will benefit us too. Emma Starmer, Senior Employment Law and HR Advisor Lester Aldridge

New app developed by b4b set to be “Tripadvisor for accessibility”

A new app called Snowball, developed by Dorset-based software agency b4b, is set to become the go-to app for disabled users looking for accessible restaurants, shops, and other services.

The app is the brainchild of former adult social care worker Simon Sansome, who became a wheelchair user in 2014 after sustaining a life-changing injury.

Simon says the idea for the app came about when he went out for dinner for the first time since his rehabilitation. When he arrived, there were people sitting in front of the disabled entrance and getting in caused “quite a fuss”. During the meal, he then found that the disabled toilets were only accessible via a flight of stairs. Before he became a wheelchair user, he says he’d never given accessibility much thought.

This experience prompted some research, and the app was born out of his general frustration with how hard it was to find information about venue accessibility.

“Short of looking up local guides (which might be out of date) or going on each venue’s website (time consuming), it’s not that easy to find out where is accessible in the local area. The idea behind Snowball is that all the information is in one easy place and – importantly – is compiled by other disabled users. Working in much the same way as Tripadvisor, it gives people a trustworthy source of information about venues that will be able to accommodate their needs.”

Snowball, described as a “rolling review of accessibility”, gives people the confidence to go out and enjoy themselves without worrying about accessibility issues.

Simon has been a well-respected voice within the disabled community for many years, as the founder of successful blog and Facebook page, Ability Access, as well as being one of the presenters of the hugely successful Grumpy Gits podcast.

Taylor Wilson, project manager at b4b, worked closely with Simon throughout the app build. He said, “I led the build of the app from start to finish and it’s been a career highlight for sure. This app is going to make a real difference to people’s lives, and Simon has been fantastic to work with. We spent hours bouncing ideas around and discussing how the app would look and work. When we sent him the finished prototype he called me back within minutes to say he loved it!”

During the design process, it was also important to consider the accessibility of the app itself. Taylor explained: “Our UX designer researched fonts to find the one that has consistently been named the easiest to read. We also limited the use of red and green for users who may have colour-blindness.”

Making sure the app was user-friendly was an ongoing and collaborative process between Simon and the developers, and involved plenty of testing. The end result is not only clean and easy to navigate, but also features a whole host of useful functionality.

Similar to Tripadvisor, users can view places (this includes everything from hairdressers and restaurants to shops, leisure attractions and more), post their own photos and reviews, include a rating and whether they’d return, and even add new places that aren’t already listed. They can also use the pin map feature to explore what’s available in their local area.

After a focus group researched venues in Loughborough and recorded their findings in the app – an activity which Simon has dubbed “snowballing” – it was found that a staggering 48per cent of places in the town were marked as inaccessible, with people “unlikely to return”. Community groups and local councils are going to start snowballing other areas, and Simon says he hopes the findings will prompt positive change.

“It’s unbelievable to me that nearly half of the places we reviewed in our focus town are unable to accommodate disabled visitors. Hopefully we can shine a light on accessibility and bring about change for good.” www.b4b.co.uk