‘Ping Fatigue': 4 Tips To Tackle This Silent Culprit Of Burnout

Forbes

06-04-2025

That pinging sound from your multiple devices could be your new American Idol. It's amazing how many of us feel slaves to the high-pitched sound and how few of us do anything about. April is National Stress Awareness month, a perfect time to pay attention to how pinging can annoy you like gnats at a picnic. But the seemingly innocuous sound is more serious than you might think if you're not fully aware of the stress it imposes in your life. When unmanaged, the constant pinging could turn into chronic stress and lead to 'ping fatigue'--a silent contributor to burnout.
'Do you know that feeling of a complete onslaught of notifications during your busy workday?" asks Peter Duris, CEO and co-founder of AI career app Kickresume. 'That's ping fatigue,' Duris answers. 'Many workers nowadays are logged into multiple apps and platforms which can send you notifications throughout the day. It can be an automatic message to let you know that someone's editing your file, a meeting's about to start or that someone's trying to contact you.'
'Ping fatigue' refers to the state of mental exhaustion that leads to an 'always on' attitude when you receive an endless stream of digital notifications from platforms like Teams, Slack, email and Google Drive. It can leave you stressed, distracted and unable to maintain your focus.
Duris is convinced that this growing issue exhausts the energy of office and tech workers in ways they're unaware of, adding, 'It's one of the things that silently contributes to burnout for office and tech workers.' Plus, he says these multiple distractions can make it more difficult to focus and get into a flow state where you feel able to tackle your work.
'There should always be a balance between getting on with your tasks and being available to your colleagues, especially if you work in a collaborative environment, according to Duris. 'I wouldn't advise anybody to feel like they are 'always on'—especially outside of work hours.'
Duris offers four tips on how you can manage your devices and prevent "ping fatigue.'
1. 'Try setting aside specific times for checking your emails and other messages. If you need a period of deep work, you can always turn off your notifications for some time or just simply turn off the sound on your computer.'
2. 'If you use Slack or Teams, you can set your status to 'busy' to let everyone know ahead of time that you might respond slower.'
3. 'Take scheduled breaks away from the screen if you can, especially during your lunch break. There's nothing better than eating with a calm mind.'
4. 'Unsubscribing to the newsletters you don't read can help you cut down the incoming notifications.'
1. 'Avoid sending messages outside of work hours. Your team will be grateful to not feel like they have to be 'always on'. If you have a great idea that you think you might forget in minutes, just write the email and schedule it for the next morning.'
2. 'Send company updates in batches for conciseness. Friendly reminder: HR, senior leadership and employee committees may need to collaborate on this for an effective weekly communications.'
3. 'Try introducing a pre-planned 'quiet time'. Many IT companies swear by it nowadays. That's when no communication is allowed, and all team members work on their own projects uninterrupted.'
Ironically, the very devices that reduce stress, save time and improve your life can exacerbate stress if not properly managed. Just because your device pings doesn't mean you have to answer it on cue, letting it become the boss of your mind. Allowing intrusive pinging to call the shots automatically puts you in a foot race that can leave you frazzled. It's time to end your love affair with pinging devices.
Tackling 'ping fatigue' can bring you more peace of mind, improve your focus and engagement and boost your productivity in the long run. Duris concludes that cutting down on 'ping fatigue"can make you more productive and strengthen your focus. 'The less notifications throughout the day, the better. And of course, it can also make work less stressful, with fewer competing distractions.' He concludes that when you're relaxed, you're better able to problem-solve and deal with daily work challenges.