I think the clock started when people started returning to their offices, at the point when hybrid, high-flex or in-office-only policies took effect. As we went from the pandemic’s remote world toward the future of work, there was an openness among leadership to rethink policies in response to this idea of being flexible with their employees, who they knew needed support. I’ve found it takes roughly six months for those new policies to get written, for new behaviors to be codified and for new social norms to be accepted. After that, we get used to a new way of doing things and are less able to challenge assumptions.

We look at a few different policies at the Digital Wellness Institute—in addition to, of course, hybrid work policies. We also look at policies around Zoom or Webex meetings. Must cameras be on? Do you start five minutes after the hour or end five minutes early so people can take a break? In some countries we’re also looking at the right to disconnect, which says an employee can’t be expected to engage in business activity outside of work hours. It started in France and moved to Italy, Portugal and Canada. It’s becoming a bigger topic for organizations that work globally. What does it mean to give only some employees and not others the right to disconnect based on their location? America is definitely lagging behind in this conversation. People have laughed and told me the right to disconnect will never happen in America, but I think the conversation is going to accelerate in the next five years. Finally, we also look at the communication charter piece, which is less of a policy and more of a company standard covering how we communicate. What channels do we use? Can we contact each other after hours? What about text messages? It’s about providing greater sanity for all of us who are getting pinged constantly and are just trying to stay focused and get work done.

I’ve seen a lot of different approaches, but I recommend that communication charters not be binding policies but rather living documents that focus on teams that work together on a daily basis. These could be very small teams, anywhere from three to ten people. It’s about working out how you want to communicate among your group and thinking about why you connect in the first place. Adding to that, it involves thinking about what opportunities exist to create boundaries that help fuel the team and make people feel supported. Finally, you need to look at how team members will hold each other accountable for sticking to the charter.

Workplace wellness surveys found that with each successive wave of the pandemic, there was another burst of investment in employee wellness. We found that those initial investments in gym memberships, meditation apps or, even in at least one case, monogrammed pajamas had a really beneficial effect for a short period of time. After that, employees found that maybe they loved the pajamas but what they really needed were flexible work schedules, reasonable workloads and the support to figure out how to balance all the distractions in life and not feel like they’re sitting on Zoom all day.

We’re hearing from employees that their real needs relate to having balance in their lives. I worked with a bank client to create communications charters. Individuals sat down and talked about their digital boundaries and what they needed to feel happier at work. For example, one woman said she needed an extra 15 minutes once a week to take a relative to a doctor’s appointment. She usually tried to sneak away and get back during the lunch hour, but said she’d be happier if it was understood that she needed that time. Based on these real conversations, company policies were more closely aligned with employee needs, and these changes made a huge difference.

When I started writing my book, my assumption was that screen time made us less happy. But I found that it’s the way we’re using technology that shapes our happiness. If we allow technology to drive our day and our time, it makes us less happy. If we are using it to interact with complete strangers—what the research calls “weak ties”—it leads to less productivity, less connection and less happiness. But if you’re interacting with people that you have a direct connection with, specifically through two or more channels—for example, at work and outside of work, by email and by phone on social media and in person—that deeper connection actually makes you feel happier. Your screen time also has to be proportional to the amount of other activities going on in your life.