The movie The Matrix paints a pretty bleak picture of a world where humankind is merely a tool of the intelligent technology that runs a parallel Earth. While we aren’t quite to the point of being used as batteries for our robot overlords, many remote employees are talking about how dependent they are on technology and how difficult it is to shut off and disconnect. For some, the feeling of working for the technology instead of the other way around is very real.

A recent Gartner survey identified three main distractions impacting remote workers’ ability to concentrate: work distractions, digital distractions, and personal distractions. While work distractions would occur even in an office setting and some personal distractions are unavoidable while working from home, the digital distractions are often uniquely amplified as a source of frustration and fatigue.

Digital tools are vital to the hybrid and remote environment—in fact, they enable the kinds of work arrangements that employees say they want. The irony is that the very tools that enable remote work contribute to burnout in a number of ways. Team members can end up feeling like slaves to technology.

Whether your team is fully remote or operates on a hybrid model, it’s important to set standards about technology use that empower your team, not the technology. Here are four tips to help you make technology work for you—not the other way around!

4 Tips to Make Hybrid Technology Work

1. ESTABLISH WHAT SPECIFIC TOOLS YOU WILL USE AS A TEAM, AND LIMIT THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE

In the process of rapidly adopting cloud and collaboration tools over the past two years, many companies ended up with multiple apps and services that operate in the same basic ways. They may have multiple tools for video conferencing, calling, instant messaging, document sharing, and even e-mail, leading to confusion and overlap. Often this leads to frustration as leaders and team members aren’t aligned with which tools to use and feel they need to replicate work across multiple tools. Establish clear guidelines about tools to help everyone have the same expectations and streamline processes.

2. BE FLEXIBLE ABOUT VIDEO USE

The phrase “Zoom fatigue” entered our modern lexicon in 2020 as sudden work-from-home employees struggled to define the exhaustion they felt after participating in weeks of video conferences. The truth is that the human brain struggles with the inputs of video conferencing. Give team members permission to turn off the cameras and participate on audio-only, and don’t insist on video use for every meeting. Allowing people to manage their own video inputs can help manage the fatigue that comes with back-to-back online meetings.

3. DEFINE WORK HOURS CLEARLY, AND ENCOURAGE TEAM MEMBERS TO TURN OFF PHONE NOTIFICATIONS

One of the most frequent causes of fatigue among remote workers is a sense of being “always-on”—the perception that they can never leave work because work and home co-exist. Define your team’s work hours clearly as much as possible, and give them clear permission to leave work and turn off notifications when they are not required to be working. Let them know that you do not expect them to be on the job 24/7/365—and set a good example by being “unavailable” yourself during your off-hours.

4. Remind Your Team to Walk away from technology whenever possible

Regularly communicate to your team that work from home does not mean never walking away from the computer or phone. Encourage team members to go outside, connect in person with friends and family, and enjoy hobbies that do not involve a screen. Walking away from screens, notifications, headsets, and office chairs periodically will significantly reduce work-from-home and technology fatigue and reinforce a sense of control over technology.

In so many ways, the office technology of the modern world is a tremendous gift that has opened doors for companies and workers alike. However, technology is a tool, not a master; it should work for us, not the reverse! No one wants to feel like a slave to technology. With an approach that acknowledges the challenges and addresses them head-on, your team can keep performing at peak condition and avoid some of the fatigue that comes from working at home.