Imagine, or relive, the scene: it\u2019s the weekend, or you\u2019re on holiday<\/strong> or it\u2019s 8.30pm on any given weekday. You\u2019re at home reading a book, watching TV, preparing dinner, playing with your children or about to go out for a drink with friends. In short, you\u2019re enjoying your free time.<\/strong> Suddenly, your mobile vibrates because you just received an email from your company.<\/strong><\/p>\n Receiving work communications outside working hours makes it difficult to balance your personal and professional life<\/strong> and can lengthen the work day, according to the latest studies, by up to 13 hours a day. And this has a very negative impact on both well-being and mental health<\/strong>.<\/p>\n When new technologies began to be introduced into the world of work<\/strong>, many people saw them as the perfect tool that would allow them, at last, to balance their personal and professional lives and spread their workloads<\/strong> more evenly throughout the day. And, to some extent, this has been the case. The problem arises when technology<\/strong> is misused or abused<\/strong>. Because having the means to connect at any time and place should not be synonymous with being available 24 hours a day<\/strong>, seven days a week.<\/p>\n As Cinthya Molina, psychologist at SHA Wellness Clinic, tells us, \u201cworking from home<\/strong> has positive aspects, such as autonomy and work-life balance, but it also has many negative factors, such as social isolation<\/strong>, unspecified working hours and being constantly connected\u201d.<\/p>\n The Spanish regulation<\/strong> gives workers the right not to answer emails or messages outside working hours, thus guaranteeing the right to digital disconnection<\/strong> during their rest periods, including summer holidays. It also establishes that at least 12 hours must elapse between the end of one working day and the start of the next.<\/p>\n In addition to being a right for all workers, digital disconnection is a vital necessity<\/strong>. Because, as Cinthya explains, \u201cnot disconnecting from work responsibilities increases mental workload, stress and anxiety<\/strong>. In addition, it can lead to burnout syndrome<\/strong>, which is a state of physical, mental and emotional exhaustion caused by chronic work-related stress and manifested in lack of concentration<\/strong>, scattered thinking, apathy, lack of motivation and memory problems,<\/strong> among many other symptoms. Therefore, disconnecting from work to connect with oneself in a more personal sphere<\/strong> is necessary for good emotional balance<\/strong> and good mental health\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Disconnecting from work responsibilities is essential for good mental health. Imagine, or relive, the scene: it\u2019s the weekend, or you\u2019re on holiday or it\u2019s 8.30pm on any given weekday. You\u2019re at home reading a book, watching TV, preparing dinner, playing with your children or about to go out for a drink with friends. In short, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":81539,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[32],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n