Your how-to: Creating a continuous learning culture around digital wellness usage
Creating a continuous learning culture around digital wellness usage in your organisation is about fostering an environment where employees actively engage in appropriate and balanced use of technology, understand the repercussions of digital overuse and are able to establish healthy digital habits. It involves instilling a sense of responsibility, encouraging curiosity and on-going learning about evolving digital tools, trends and threats. This ultimately results in elevated digital literacy levels in the workforce, and improved overall digital wellbeing.
In an Australian context, this might mean complying with the Commonwealth legislation under the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986, which protects employees' right to a safe and healthy working environment. It also aligns with Standards Australia's (the country's non-governmental standards organisation) guidelines for ergonomic principles conducive to good occupational safety and health. Creating such a learning culture can help in reducing the risk of digital eye strain, mental fatigue, and other health issues associated with excessive screen time and sedentary behaviour without proper breaks and guidelines.
Step by step instructions
Assess Current Digital Wellness Knowledge: Before introducing any learning initiatives, it's essential to understand the current digital wellness awareness in your organisation. Conduct a survey or engage in informal consultations with employees to grasp their knowledge and practices in using digital tools. This will give you a baseline understanding of your team's digital understanding.
Develop a Comprehensive Curriculum: Create a curriculum for your digital wellness program. This could include workshops, webinars, e-learning modules, and informative videos. Ensure that your content is engaging and interactive to maximise knowledge retention.
Implement Learning Initiatives: Roll out your digital wellness learning initiatives in a phased manner. Start with pilot sessions and collect feedback to improve your approach before a full-scale implementation.
Continually Update Your Program: The realm of digital wellness is continually evolving, so your learning program should be adaptable. Regularly update your curriculum to keep it relevant and up-to-date with the latest developments in digital wellness.
Define Your Learning Goals and Objectives: Based on the insights gathered from your initial assessment, you should outline clear learning goals around digital wellness. These could include understanding the impact of digital overuse on physical and mental health, learning to balance screen time, knowing about ergonomic guidelines, etc.
Encourage Employee Participation: Encourage employees to partake in your learning initiatives by communicating the benefits of digital wellness effectively. You could also consider incorporating incentives like rewards or recognition for those who participate actively.
Monitor Progress and Evaluate Outcomes: To measure the success of your program, monitor employee progress through quizzes, surveys or feedback sessions. This will not only help track learning outcomes but also identify areas for improvement.
Comply With Relevant Legislation: Ensure that your practices comply with relevant Australian laws such as the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986, which promotes a safe working environment. In addition, adhere to the guidelines set by Standards Australia that pertain to using digital devices at work.
Use this template to implement
To ensure you can execute seamlessly, download the implementation template.
Pitfalls to avoid
Digital wellness should not be an imposed policy but an enabler for employees to achieve a healthier relationship with technology. Failing to involve employees in the planning and implementation phases could lead to resistance or disengagement. Strategies should be user-focused, so consider running employee surveys or workshops to gain insights into their digital habits and wellness needs.
Without deliberately set objectives or metrics of success, your initiative could drift aimlessly. Clearly define what your organisation aims to achieve by implementing a digital wellness culture. This could range from reducing screen time, improving work-life balance, stronger cybersecurity or fostering more mindful technology usage.
Australian organisations must be mindful of legislative compliance, like the Fair Work Act 2009 necessitating employers to take reasonable steps to ensure office safety - that includes managing hazards and risks relating to excessive screen time or online harassment. Non-compliance could lead to legal penalties and reputational damage.
Without effective internal communication, your digital wellness initiative could fail to take root. Promote the concept and perks of digital wellness with regular updates, workshops or webinars.
While it’s crucial digital wellness strategies are comprehensive, it should not be so complex that it becomes burdensome for employees. Design easy-to-follow strategies, like introducing short screen-breaks or providing ergonomic digital devices.
Just awareness of digital wellness isn't enough; your employees may need training and support to change ingrained behaviours. From learning sessions, digital wellness applications to counseling services, ensure your employees have the necessary assistance.