Technological advances can make a workplace stressful

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Michael Yoakum
  • 60th Security Forces Squadron
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  It's an everyday occurrence in the Air Force that the terms hot, now, ASAP, negative reply not accepted, due today, and hot tasker tend to cause a lot of stress. It's amazing how much stress these words generate. Why is it we demand so much in such short notice and place so much pressure on each other?

In my opinion, the technological era has established a leadership expectation of "I need information and I need it now" that generates a huge amount of stress on Airmen. Think about it, you can have zero knowledge on any topic and go to Google, type in a topic or phrase and receive millions of hits. I typed "off the wall subjects" and received 3,440,000 hits. According to consumer reports 85 percent of Americans own a cell phone, 90 percent own computers and every one of these users rely on technology. It's no secret that Airmen rely on technology every day to accomplish the mission, so how do we balance technology and stress?

According to the Kensington Stress and Technology in the Workplace Survey, a primary source of workplace stress is the various demands of technologies. These demands include problems like e-mail information overload, a fear of data loss and a constant need to remain "connected." Don't you love the days the servers are down or SharePoint can't be accessed?
Especially when you know you have taskers due now.

Heck, as I type this article the batteries in my mouse are dying and it's making my blood pressure rise. Yes, technology provides organizations with the ability to distribute information much faster than ever before. Communication networks and e-mail systems have become flooded with more data than is practical for an organization's capabilities, or even an employee's ability to assess. These issues, in turn, affect the level of stress in an employee's personal life.

How do we deal with this stress? For starters, leaders need to step back, take a deep breath and remember we are humans trying to process information using countless technological systems, which if not properly populated provides poor information or, if not operating properly, causes delays. Help subordinates differentiate between "hot, now, and ASAP," in other words, clarify what is priority. Establish realistic suspense dates; give your subordinates reasonable time to work a task. Consider the chain of command which takes time to coordinate the response. The outcome will be accurate and valid information, and in return, much less stress on our subordinates.

On a personal level you can combat daily stress by considering a couple of these stress outlets: take a break, listen to music, exercise, get something to drink, read a magazine or newspaper or do a crossword puzzle -- no smoke breaks. Indulging in one or two of these activities for 10 to 15 minutes per day will help reduce stress generated from daily technological demands and connectivity problems. Needless to say, all the hot, now, ASAP, negative reply not accepted, due today, and hot taskers are not going to disappear, but hopefully you can move forward and minimize the stress caused by the technological era and leadership expectations. "Aim High Fly, Fight and Win."