America This Week Wave 266

Our Kids Need a Tech Detox, Feral Workplaces, Financial Literacy is Healthy Too, and AI is the Rx for Physician Burnout

The latest trends in society and culture from The Harris Poll

Good morning from New York. 

Despite the growing sense of polarization in America, there’s one thing we can all rally around: hate-watching the college basketball “bluebloods.” As we head into Final Four weekend, Duke (21%) is the men’s team fans most want to see lose of all teams in the tournament, while UConn (13%) takes that spot in the women’s tournament. Both will be playing this weekend to win a trip to the championship game.

We have four new stories this week:

1. In our Bright Horizons poll in Fortune, parents are calling for a ‘detox’ from their children’s screen time. 
2. Meaner workplaces drive turnover in a survey we fielded with Express Employment Professionals. 
3. With Mastercard and MoneyLion, we found a curious connection between improving your financial literacy and better health. 
4. Harris and Athenahealth find that AI has proven to be the administrative antidote for physician burnout.

Sixty-Eight Percent of Parents with Young Kids Say They Need a ‘Tech Detox’

As the clamor for a cell phone ban in schools rises nationwide, our new poll with Bright Horizons and Fortune shows that parents might also want that to happen before kindergarten.

• Screens before their ABCs: Three in five American parents (60%) say their children started using technology before they could read. 
• This leads nearly three-quarters (73%) of parents, including two-thirds (68%) with children under age six, to say their children could use a “detox” from technology.
• Yet parents also give into tech out of desperation, whether as a bargaining chip to do chores or homework (55%) or keeping their kids quiet while in public (58%). 

Takeaway: As psychologist Becky Kennedy, a.k.a. Dr. Becky, previously told Fortune, this is uncharted territory.  “I don’t think parenting has ever come naturally,” she says. “But the idea that parenting would be natural in a digital world with all of this stuff available to our kids is at best a joke – and at worst, a way to purposely make parents feel awful about themselves.” She stressed that parents should not beat them themselves up over it all. Still, said Kennedy, the potential cost of not setting such boundaries “has never been higher.”

Hostility Spikes at The Office: Express Employment Professionals- Harris Poll

Job switching is usually a tactic for personal development or enrichment. Yet, for many, it’s also a way to escape a toxic workplace. In our new survey in Inc., 

• Over a fifth (22%) of employees looking to switch jobs say colleagues have become meaner over the last year–– so much so that (30%) say it’s pushing them to leave their positions. 
• Hiring managers see this too: Half (50%) of hiring managers report increased poor employee behavior compared to previous years. 
• Nearly three-quarters (74%) of HMs have regularly witnessed toxic traits, such as gossiping (39%), unprofessional communication (27%), micromanaging (19%) or credit stealing (19%). 

Takeaway: Addressing destructive workplace behaviors is crucial if companies aim to attract and retain top talent, and modeling such behavior is dangerous in a looming recession and growing AI displacement. Improving workplace emotions can lessen the risk of workers getting depressed, and hiring experts have recommended that fixing these issues starts with decisions made at the top.

Financial Literacy Is Good For Your Health, Too: MoneyLion-Harris Poll

Your health is a function of diet, exercise, and…financial literacy? There’s a growing connection between having control over your finances and overall well-being in our new poll with MoneyLion and Mastercard:

• Two-thirds “feel” the effects of financial stress: (66%) of Americans say it has caused physical symptoms, like trouble sleeping (40%) and headaches (37%). 
• Financial concerns lead to missed healthcare: (59%) have skipped health-related activities like doctor visits or fitness activities due to financial matters. 
• Inflation isn’t helping: (67%) say inflation has negatively impacted their physical or mental health, citing increased stress (38%) and anxiety (36%).
• Yet, while (75%) say they’d be healthier if they improved their financial literacy, (56%) face barriers to learning about money and finances. 

Takeaway: So do some quick cals and learn up on compound interest rates? Empowering consumers with personalized, easy, accessible financial knowledge could improve their health and quality of life. “Financial well-being isn’t just about money; it’s about freedom, access, and opportunity,” said Yuka Yoneda, Vice President of Content Marketing at MoneyLion.

AI Shows Promise in Helping Physicians Avoid Burnout: Athenahealth-Harris Poll

We track physician burnout, among other things. An increase in wellness is a welcome reprieve from the high physician turnover following the pandemic.  Our new poll with Athenahealth in Healthcare Dive shows that the weekly number of physicians considering leaving the medical profession has declined (22%) since last year, and physician burnout is down (10%). What’s driving this? 

• AI adoption is growing. Fewer physicians reported that the technology was overhyped this year (27% vs. 40%) or that AI is one more thing that would complicate healthcare (31% vs. 42%). 
• Transcription services and capabilities (48%) and streamlining administrative tasks (46%) are deemed the most valuable uses of AI. Those using AI in their practice have used it more frequently to generate clinical documentation over the past year (68%). 
• Yet, (61%) are concerned about AI leading to the loss of human touch, and fear an overreliance on AI for diagnoses (58%). 

Takeaway: “Improved physician sentiment year-over-year indicates that when tools and technology are designed to address physician’s needs and improve their experience, we can have a tangible impact on the healthcare system — increasing efficiencies for physicians and enabling better patient outcomes,” said Dr. Nele Jessel, chief medical officer at athenahealth. “AI is moving from hype to reality, and the data shows us that physicians are starting to see real benefits in alleviating administrative burden.”