Distractibility: How Presence Can Help Resolve Claims
(and improve the quality of our lives)
Dual monitors: one with email pulled up, the other with a web browser and 7 different tabs squished next to a window with whatever you’re currently working on. A case summary. Invoicing. Calendaring. A claims log.
Your phone rests face up on your desk so you don’t miss a single notification, which would be hard to do since they also roll through on your wrist via your watch. Calls. Texts. Emails. Social media notifications. Little pings from ESPN or the news, a reminder to “stand” or a midday step-count update.
All day long our attention is divided, and in the type of work we do— helping people find clarity in the midst of confusion and make big decisions to move forward in their lives— this distractability could be costing us.
Mediation day is the culmination of many months— often years— of trekking uphill for both parties involved in workers’ compensation disputes.
Today, everyone has agreed to come to the table together in hopes of finally putting this behind them and starting the descent down the mountain to a new normal. What lies ahead—here at the peak and on the other side— is uncertain, but one thing is for sure: a real person with a real story and real feelings is here today, and we owe them the chance to be heard.1
We all have lives outside of work, and Prism Group believes wholeheartedly that these outer lives are of utmost importance in this one precious life. There is always something going on in the world outside the walls of the mediation room— politically, personally, professionally. But our commitment to being as present as we can while this discussion takes place is critical not only to treating people humanely, but also to getting the outcome all parties are here for: resolution.
Between the pings and the buzzes, the rings and the vibrations, the browser tabs and constant vigilance on email— our divided attention is costing us effectiveness and efficiency. The research shows the negative side effects of our efforts to multitask:
Comprehension. Attention. Performance. How are we to do our jobs efficiently and effectively if these 3 things are suffering?
What are we to do in an increasingly connected world with increasingly high demands on our time & attention?
We’re working on this in our own ways:
putting devices on “Do Not Disturb” so notifications don’t interrupt work or conversations
checking email a few times throughout the day rather than keeping the app open indefinitely or checking every half hour
doing one thing at a time
letting people know we can’t talk right now and when we will get back to them instead
taking small breaks throughout the day to give our minds a break
What can you take from this list or what will you add?
Remember: presence matters, and distractions cost us more than we think.
“Real” does not necessarily mean “true.” Someone’s feelings and stories may be very “real” to them regardless of whether or not they are true, and this reality is what we need to focus on when trying to move a case forward.