Around 3.26 billion people in 2019 have a smartphone, on which they use social media, and cannot go through their daily lives without it, whether the phone is used for work, study or private means (Kemp, 2019). The smartphone has been changing our way of communicating. It leads to a constant connectivity for its owner (Nichols, 2017). Although this might seem beneficial at first, I believe we are all aware of the negative consequences it might have. The fear of missing out has become a more often discussed topic. Social media allows us to see the ‘best’ parts of the lives of others. Even though the social media profile of a person might not reflect his or her actual life, we still tend to compare our lives to those profiles. This leads to a higher stress level, as we are constantly trying to have the most exciting and successful life possible (Nichols, 2017).

This increasing stress level in our personal life often extends to our professional life. Not only are we supposed to always (or let’s say: often) be available, we set our expectations quite high. Burnout has been the number one reason to be off work in Sweden in 2018 (Savage, 2019). A burnout can unfold itself in many different ways, but the main cause is experiencing a constant high level of stress (Savage, 2019). Although Sweden is a country that is known for its work-life balance, many people apparently still experience this high level of stress (Savage, 2019). Other western countries are also starting to acknowledge this mental illness, as they simply cannot deny it (Savage, 2019). Burnouts show that human kind at this moment often cannot cope with the stress of modern life.

So now I wonder: Where will this end? Will technology keep on pushing us to be more than we can be? Will this lead to an ever-increasing number of burnouts? Or will we realise that this is not the right way to go? Can technology and/or businesses even help us to find our own boundaries?

Chinese businesses have been experimenting with monitoring employees’ brain waves (Chan, 2019). With this ‘emotional surveillance technology’, businesses can monitor the emotional state of mind of an employee and decide whether that employee, for example, might need a break or should go home for the rest of the day (Chen, 2018). This leads to an increase in productivity (Chan, 2019). On the one hand, this could increase employee health, as it can signal depression or anxiety. However, companies can use this information to take as much advantage of their employee as they can. Additionally, it raises the issue of privacy (“With brain-scanning hats”, 2018). Should companies even be allowed to monitor the mental health of their employees this way? Thus, there is a lot more to say about this topic.

Although some sources argue that the technology does not work well yet, I believe it gives an example of how technology might help preventing illnesses such as burnouts in the future (“With brain-scanning hats”, 2018; Chen, 2018).

The future of our mental health is certainly correlated with the future of technology. It can be a threat to our mental health, such as the increasing number of burnouts show, but it may also drive companies to innovate to find a way to improve the mental health of their employees and/or their customers. Thus, it may provide new opportunities.

Sources:
Chan, T.F. (2019, May 1). China is monitoring employees’ brain waves and emotions – and the technology boosted one company’s profits $315 million. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.nl/china-emotional-surveillance-technology-2018-4?international=true&r=US.
Chen, A. (2018, May 1). Brain-scanning in Chinese factories probably doesn’t work — if it’s happening at all. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/1/17306604/china-brain-surveillance-workers-hats-data-eeg-neuroscience.
Nichols, H. (2017, July 3). How modern life affects our physical and mental health. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318230.php.
Kemp, S. (2019, January 31). Digital 2019: Global digital overview. Retrieved from https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2019-global-digital-overview.
Savage, M. (2019, August 7). Burnout is rising in the land of work-life balance. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190719-why-is-burnout-rising-in-the-land-of-work-life-balance.
With brain-scanning hats, China signals it has no interest in workers’ privacy. (2018, April 30). Retrieved from https://www.technologyreview.com/f/611052/with-brain-scanning-hats-china-signals-it-has-no-interest-in-workers-privacy/.