ER BREAKFAST, 23 FEBRUARY 2016SWITCHING OFF: RISK PREVENTION IN A DIGITAL AGE

STEVE HUGHES, HEAD OF EMPLOYMENT & NATHALIE INGLES, SOLICITOR

WELCOME – YOUR SPEAKERSSTEVE HUGHES, HEAD OF EMPLOYMENT

Direct dial: +44(0)1392 829254

Mobile: +44 (0) 7469 795288

Email: Steve.Hughes@otbeveling.com

Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/steve-hughes/21/471/398

Website: www.otbeveling.com

NATHALIE INGLES, EMPLOYMENT SOLICITOR

Direct dial: +44(0)1392 829240

Email: Nathalie.Ingles@otbeveling.com

Linked in: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/nathaliemitchell

WHAT WE PLAN TO COVER TODAY

• The digital age

• Guest speaker: Peter Smith, Development Director, Broadway Lodge• Some of the risks associated with

technology

• Spotting the signs of an issue with a member of your staff

• Treatment options

• Risk prevention: how some overseas employers are responding to the issue

• Small group exercise

These slides are provided for information purposes only. Their contents do not constitute legal advice and should not be regarded as a substitute for specific professional advice. © OTB Eveling LLP 2016 All rights reserved

THE DIGITAL AGE WE LIVE IN: CONNECTIVITY ANYTIME, ANYWHERE

LINE BETWEEN “ON TIME” AND “OFF TIME” IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY BLURRED –ENTERING A STATE OF ‘HYPER CONNECTIVITY’

MAKING IT HARDER FOR PEOPLE TO TRULY SWITCH OFF

SOME STATISTICS (1)•In its 2011 Communications Market Report, Ofcom has stated that 60% of teenagers who use smartphones have described themselves as “highly addicted” to their devices; so do 37% of adults; the same survey indicated that the UK spends 8 hours 41 minutes on devices per day; those aged between 16 – 24, spend 14 hours per day in media activity

•According to knowyourmobile.com, the average smartphone user unlocks his phone 11 times a day

•1 in 7 UK people have contemplated divorce because of their spouse’s social media activity

•A poll in 2013 indicated (30%) of the UK's 33 million Facebook users are on the network for at least an hour a day, with 13% spending at least two hours on Facebook each day. More than a quarter (26%) of UK women on Facebook check their pages at least 10 times a day, compared to less than one in five (18%) of men. Of the UK's estimated 26 million Twitter users, (31%) spend more than an hour a day on the network, while 14% - more than 3.6 million people - say their daily usage exceeds two hours.

•Some of the research likens our relationship with smartphones to research carried out on rats in the 1950s by Skinner

•According to the CEO of a leading smartphone App developer, Raefer Gabriel, CEO of Delvv, the situation has been made worse by “the increased use of adaptive, personalised feeds in social media” that give us “more incentive to over-consume” – in the process reinforcing ‘addictive behavioural patterns’

SOME STATISTICS (2)•In the US, a study of 12,800 American women published in 2012 found that 34% check their smartphone before getting into bed; 21% wake up in the night to check Facebook; 27% check Facebook on the toilet

•China and South Korea are the countries with the highest rates of internet addiction (30%)

•China has more than 300 internet addiction centres

•South Korea (total population 50 million) is one of the most connected countries on Earth: 98% of households are broadband; 2/3rds of population own a smart phone

•In South Korea, it is estimated that 2 million people are addicted to playing online games; 2.5 million are estimated to be addicted to smart phones (using devices 8 hours+ per day)

•Research in South Korea has pointed to a link between overuse of smartphone and gaming devices to the side effect of “digital dementia” i.e. serious cognitive problems – worryingly, the condition is resistant to treatment once it has developed

WITH THE POTENTIAL TO AFFECT THE FOLLOWING

AS SOPHISTICATED HR PROFESSIONALS FROM LEADING ORGANISATIONS YOU KNOW ABOUT:

= EMPLOYEE INFORMATION, RELEVANT AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS, POLICIES, EAP AND TRAINING FOR LINE MANAGERS

BUT AS REGARDS AWARENESS OF GAMING, INTERNET AND TECHNOLOGY ADDICTION, OUR EXPERIENCE IS PRESENTLY:

TO ILLUSTRATE: QUICK SHOW OF HANDS1. How many of your organisations currently provide your people with

guidelines on your expectations around sending and accessing emails?

2. How many of your organisations issue your people with smartphones? Of those who said yes,

a. How many of you issue your people with guidance on the safe use of smart phones?

b. How many of you encourage your people to switch off their smart phones during and outside work hours?

c. How many of you monitor the amount of time which your people use their smartphones outside of normal core office hours of work?

3. How many of your organisations offer addiction counselling as part of any EAP service ?

4. How many of your organisations use health surveillance programmes to detect clinical signs of occupationally induced conditions or disorders?

INTRODUCE OUR GUEST SPEAKER: DR PETER SMITH, DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR OF BROADWAY LODGE

HOW DO YOU SPOT THE SIGNS THAT THERE COULD BE A POTENTIAL ISSUE?•Reduced productivity

•Withdrawing or deterioration in relationships with colleagues, customers or suppliers

•Patterns of depression or fatigue

•Poor timekeeping

•Erratic performance and/or failing to complete assignments on time

•Altered physical appearance

•Lying about the amount of time spent on social media, Internet or video games

•Falling asleep at work

•Unusual irritability or aggression

•Sudden mood swings

•Long lunch breaks

•Memory deficit

•Attention disorders

•Mysterious disappearances

•Unexplained sick leave

•Difficulty sleeping

•Migraines

•Dry eyes

•Carpel tunnel syndrome

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOUR ORGANISATION?

OR + +

=

RISK PREVENTION: CONSIDER HOW SOME OVERSEAS EMPLOYERS ARE RESPONDING TO THE ISSUE?

SMALL GROUP EXERCISEIn your groups, consider what simple proactive measures you could reasonably implement within your own organisation to:

a. Identify whether you had an issue?

b. Raise awareness around some of the risks associated with gaming, Internet and technology addiction?

c. Mitigate the risks of gaming, Internet and technology addiction?

d. How you would sell / promote such measures to senior management?

SUGGESTED READING (1)•http://www.economist.com/node/21549904

•http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/06/skinner-marketing-were-the-rats-and-facebook-likes-are-the-reward/276613/

•http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/jul/29/internet-addiction-hooked-digital-technology

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2015/12/21/digital-addiction-is-the-worlds-next-great-health-crisis/#gref

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2012/11/28/wired-south-korea-to-stem-digital-addiction-from-age-3/1731371/

http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/technology-1/south-korea-is-fighting-digital-addiction-starting-at-age-three.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/11345412/Inside-the-Chinese-boot-camp-treating-Internet-addiction.html

http://www.cnbc.com/id/

http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-details/how-the-digital-deluge-is-impacting-wellbeing

SUGGESTED READING (2)• http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/smartphone-addiction/

• http://whnt.com/2015/01/10/survey-suggests-iphone-separation-anxiety-is-a-real-condition/

• http://www.nhs.uk/news/2015/08August/Pages/Checking-emails-out-of-work-can-reduce-wellbeing.aspx

http://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/03/eastern_michigan_university_gr_4.html

http://digitalworkplacegroup.com/2012/03/07/trends-is-addiction-the-dark-side-of-digital-working/

http://images.knowhow.ceridian.com/Web/CeridianCorporation/%7B29c8cb17-aedb-414a-bcff-155af141d615%7D_AR-CA-EN-Technology_Detox_Article-114359-100.pdf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16314901

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16055310

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/predictions/technology/11306785/digital-detox.html

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/poll/france-ban-employees-work-emails-after-six-poll

https://hbr.org/2014/08/should-employers-ban-email-after-work-hours/

https://www.employeebenefits.co.uk/educating-staff-to-deal-with-stress-created-by-technology/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10276815/Out-of-hours-working-banned-by-German-labour-ministry.html