As a sponsor of this year’s Summit, the University of Brighton’s Help to Grow programme spoke to Kerry Watkins on the 24/7 theme – the advantages and disadvantages of having more hours in the day and how a digital detox has changed her life.

Kerry Watkins, Brighton Chamber member, set up Social For Good in 2010 to help purpose-driven organisations develop strategies and put reporting in place to get control over their social media. They empower their clients, the ‘good guys’ to amplify and measure their impact through ethical and strategic social media.

We started by asking Kerry, what do you think are the advantages of the 24/7, always on culture?

There are advantages to the ultra-connected, digital world we live in today. It allows more people to work remotely and flexibly, planning work around their personal lives and commitments. Increased flexibility can lead to higher job satisfaction as it gives us more autonomy and control over our work/life balance.

It also means that we can work with and collaborate with organisations all over the world and in different time zones. This opens up new markets and opportunities for many businesses and gives us space to be innovative and work in different ways.

What do you think are the disadvantages and the cost of this for people?

However, with the increased flexibility come blurred boundaries. For many of us, work is so easily accessible on your laptop or phone, and therefore it can be really challenging to fully switch off from work when you finish for the day. And if you’re working from home, it can be even more challenging without the walk or drive home to punctuate the end of the working day.

People will be happier and more productive if there are clearer boundaries between work and life, even for those who mistakenly think being a workaholic is a good thing. ‘Busyness’ may feel productive but it’s mentally draining leaving you exhausted on a daily basis.

How can we be more aware of these costs and what can we do to help with this?

We have to work smarter, not harder. And we have to increase our awareness around digital wellness and habits. As well as the obvious ergonomic work environment adjustments, employers should be encouraging their people to take regular screen breaks, move around in between calls and get out in nature on their breaks. This is key to maintaining energy throughout the day. And if they haven’t adopted the four day week yet – I’d advise them to keep reading about it and review the data… reduced stress and burnout, increased wellbeing and productivity and business growth.

What do you do personally to help with this?

Personally, I have switched all notifications off on my smartphone excluding WhatsApp for family day-to-day life (sometimes you just need to ask someone to bring milk home!). This helps me have a more intentional relationship with my phone – only picking it up when I choose to, not because I’ve been pulled in by a notification.

I also try to get out in nature every day for a walk, without my phone. Having a dog makes that a lot easier. There is evidence that being in nature reduces stress and I really do notice the difference if I don’t get my daily walk in.

After my digital detox experience last year, I gained so much perspective on how important it is to switch off to allow my busy brain to process everything. Running a business, having a family and everything else in between is a lot for any brain. And I don’t think I realised just how much time my phone sucked out of each day. Suddenly getting those hours back was quite amazing. But the biggest takeaway of the detox was that my brain felt alive again, a kind of neurological spring clean took place without any tech for 3 days that brought a new energy to my thinking.

Just a couple of months after the digital detox I started the Help to Grow course at the University of Brighton which gave me the headspace to work ON the business rather than IN it. I’ve had some of my best and most innovative business ideas during this course. Of course, you don’t need to ditch your tech for good to achieve this but it helps! Even a mini digital detox or some small changes to your daily digital habits and behaviours can help you find a place of thriving rather than surviving in our 24/7 world.

 How can Social for Good help local businesses?

We provide digital wellbeing workshops and courses to help people learn more about the relationship between tech and human behaviour, experiment with new habits to become more productive, present and connected and gain control of that relationship to build a healthier digital life. The world might be always on and 24/7 but we could be so much better if we try 24/6 for a bit.

As a business, collaborating with the University of Brighton gives you access to the latest thinking, opens exciting new opportunities and delivers valuable outcomes. Talk to them about accessing talent, R&D programmes and upskilling your workforce through our range of programmes including Help to Grow the 90% Government funded leadership programme.

Brighton Summit 24/7 is on 23 October at The Corn Exchange at Brighton Dome. It’s a full day jam-packed with super speakers, wonderful workshops, brilliant breakouts, next-level networking and so much more to help us explore this year’s 24/7 theme. See what’s happening so far on our Brighton Summit schedule, and book your ticket here.