In this week’s article I wanted to discuss today’s challenge of being present. Devices like smartphones can impact people’s ability to be present in a number of ways, including:
- Reduced cognitive performance
Even when a smartphone is turned off, its presence can reduce cognitive capacity and impair cognitive functioning. This can lead to slower work speeds and reduced ability to focus.
- Reduced enjoyment
The presence of a phone can reduce enjoyment of an experience, especially if it’s used to engage with the experience. For example, taking photos with the intent to share them on social media can reduce enjoyment.
- Changed family time
Research in the US suggests that teens are spending less time outside the home away from their parents due to mobile devices.
However, mobile phones can also have positive effects on people’s lives, such as:
Giving a voice to those cut off from the world during cataclysmic events
Making communication routine
Sharing information with friends and family
This means that in these moments, the mere presence of our smartphones can adversely affect our ability to think and problem-solve — even when we aren’t using them. Even when we aren’t looking at them. Even when they are face-down. And even when they are powered off altogether.
When I run training sessions I try not to sit participants behind desks, we have desks when we need them, but I sit them facing me in semi-circle, it makes huge difference to them being present and engaged in their training. I’m also a lot of fun!!!
If we do sit at desks I ask for phones to be put away, the intention being to create the space for participants to be present yet, in an article written for the Harvard Business Review Having Your Smartphone Nearby Takes a Toll on Your Thinking states,
Put your phone away” has become a commonplace phrase that is just as often dismissed. Despite wanting to be in the moment, we often do everything within our power to the contrary. We take out our phones to take pictures in the middle of festive family meals and send text messages or update our social media profiles in the middle of a date or while watching a movie.
At the same time, we are often interrupted passively by notifications of emails or phone calls. Clearly, interacting with our smartphones affects our experiences.
But can our smartphones affect us even when we aren’t interacting with them — when they are simply nearby?
In two lab experiments, nearly 800 people completed tasks designed to measure their cognitive capacity. Before completing these tasks, the researchers asked participants to either: place their phones in front of them (face-down on their desks); keep them in their pockets or bags; or leave them in another room.
The results were striking: the closer the phone to the participant, the worse they fared on the task.
The mere presence of our smartphones is like the sound of our names or a crying baby — something that automatically exerts a gravitational pull on our attention. Resisting that pull takes a cognitive toll.
So, what’s the answer?
as Simon Sinek discusses in his videos, we need to be willing to
Disconnect to Connect | Simon Sinek
and, be aware that:
How do you keep your employees engaged whilst training. What boundaries do you put in place to ensure they have the best opportunity to be present, learn and grow? Let me know, I would love to hear your thoughts.
Need more information? Have a look through my previous Blogs, located on The Loyalty Zone website or contact me, I look forward to hearing from you.
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Warm Regards
Craig Cherry