Mental health accessibility

- In the last few years, there's been a fascinating journey in the area of mental health and technology. I still remember people asking me how mental health could be considered a disability, and people are still surprised when we show the impact technology can have. Think about how much time you spend in front of a computer. Think for a moment how the lines between work and home have become blurred over the last few years. It's really important that we look after our mental health and take deliberate action to monitor our use. I want to share a few statistics that can help you understand why mental health is so important. One in six people experienced a mental health problem in the last week. We would include depression, anxiety, PTSD, stress, and sleep problems here. If not addressed, our technology can exacerbate mental health problems. Consider for a moment that 87% of people now read work emails outside of work hours. 30% of people check their inbox and their social media before they get out of bed in the morning. 55% of adults say they are overwhelmed by the amount of information they have to take in. We should have this conversation in the workplace. We should offer best practices to combat some of these trends. Let's look at some positive options that you might not realize you have and hopefully find useful. First, consider setting quiet hours in chat applications like Microsoft Teams. Allow yourself to watch meeting recordings. Is every meeting that important to attend in-person? Use focus mode in Windows or in Office. It takes 20 minutes to get back to something when you are distracted. Take a look at Insights in Microsoft Outlook. Monitor your own personal work habits and let the AI suggest some actions, find focus time or book a lunch break. Play your emails. Did you know you can now go for a walk and listen to your emails? I do this all the time. I can come back to them any time, but it stops me fixating on the number in my inbox. It's really cathartic to clear the emails that have come in overnight. Finally, turn on your nightlight on your PC and on your phone. This removes the blue light that can interfere with your sleep. To finish, I want share something we can all do. Even if we sometimes write emails at antisocial times, we can avoid impacting the lives of our colleagues outside of work. When you send an email, you can set up delayed send inside Insights. Be a considerate colleague. The information age shows no signs of slowing down. You should take action now to ensure the technology you're using is optimized for your mental health. And if you find solutions that work well for you, share them with others.