Beyond the building: measuring technology’s impact on brain health
Executives spend an enormous amount of time and resources preparing for the future of work. They model the effects of automation, rethink organisational structures and some are now asking (demanding) their people to get back to the office. Furthermore, companies track office occupancy and report on ESG and Sustainability targets.
Interestingly, amidst all of this, one of the most important variables is rarely measured: how technology is reshaping employee brain health.
Technology leaves a mark on the human brain
Neuroscience shows that the brain is plastic, constantly reshaping itself in response to repeated activity. One famous study illustrated how London taxi drivers famously rewired and grew their hippocampus by memorising city streets.
Today, digital technologies are doing the same, though often in less beneficial ways. Correia de Barros (2024) highlights this duality: digital media can stimulate neuroplasticity and strengthen learning, memory and problem-solving by providing “cognitive scaffolding” that supports performance. Yet, overexposure to rapid, low-effort information flows; constant smartphone alerts, social media scrolling, or AI-driven nudges trains the brain towards shallow bursts of attention, reduces deep thinking and increases vulnerability to distraction and stress.
Image from: Correia de Barros, E. (2024). Understanding the Influence of Digital Technology on Human Cognitive Functions: A Narrative Review.
Every ping and notification shapes not only cognitive output, but also long-term brain health. Companies that fail to monitor and manage this, risk undermining their most important asset: the brains of their people.
Thus, the effects are not neutral. They’re both positive and negative.
Digital tools can enhance creativity and problem-solving, but overuse can erode empathy, reduce deep thinking and harm mental and brain health. Looking ahead, in an incredibly interesting (and quite long!) recent report ‘‘Being Human in 2035’’ global experts predict that by 2035 human curiosity and creativity may strengthen, while social intelligence, focus and sense of purpose may decline.
Thus, some of the capabilities we predict we will need the most, are also those predicted to deteriorate.
Intrinsic motivation protects brain health
So what influences cognitive health and performance at work? Well, it’s not the things most companies tend to focus on the most. Pay, benefits, training... Large-scale research from Oxford demonstrates that employee wellbeing, including job satisfaction, sense of purpose, and happiness are linked to profitability and firm value.
Similarly, J.P. Morgan’s analysis of the Human Capital Factor (HCF) found that intrinsic motivators such as pride, trust in leadership and strong emotional connections deliver consistent excess stock returns. Extrinsic motivators however, such as compensation, are linked to underperformance.
Brain health is not separate from business health. It is the foundation of it.
The gap in corporate reporting
Despite this evidence, most organisations still focus on extrinsic factors and report on surface-level metrics: headcount, turnover, absenteeism, diversity ratios, or wellness programme participation. These reveal policies, but not lived experience. It is like measuring public health by counting gym memberships without asking if anyone actually exercises.
This reflects a larger problem: leaders know that human capital drives value, but lack effective ways to measure it.
Better ways to measure and track brain health
The Human Capital Factor provides one solution. By quantifying employee perceptions engagement, emotional connection, innovation, alignment it connects workplace culture directly to financial outcomes. These measures are statistically linked to profitability and equity performance, making them far more predictive than traditional HR disclosures.
But there are alternatives emerging that go deeper, providing leaders with actionable data and insights. One is our own, the flow2thrive Brain Health methodology and index, which focus specifically on optimising brain health and performance in the workplace. It provides organisations with a framework to assess, train and strengthen cognitive health and capacities. flow2thrive integrates neuroscience and practical interventions to directly enhance brain performance.
Why leaders must act now
As AI and digital systems become deeply embedded in daily work, organisations face a choice. They can treat brain health as incidental, continuing to report the same basic HR inputs, or they can recognise it as a core driver of competitive advantage, measuring it with tools like the flow2thrive Brain Health Index and actively strengthening it.
Every innovation, every decision, every act of creativity flows through the human brain. Measuring, protecting and enhancing brain health is no longer optional. It is a business imperative.
The firms that succeed in the future of work will be the ones who employ the healthiest brains.
References
De Neve, J.-E., Kaats, M., & Ward, G. (2024). Workplace Wellbeing and Firm Performance. University of Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre
J.P. Morgan & Irrational Capital. (2023). What Drives Employees: Intrinsic or Extrinsic Factors?
J.P. Morgan & Irrational Capital. (2024). US Human Capital Factor: Still Going Strong
Irrational Capital. (2021). The Human Capital Factor: Intrinsic Motivation and Equity Outperformance
Correia de Barros, E. (2024). Understanding the Influence of Digital Technology on Human Cognitive Functions: A Narrative Review. IBRO Neuroscience Report
Anderson, J., & Rainie, L. (2025). Being Human in 2035: How Are We Changing in the Age of AI?
Maguire, E.A., Gadian, D.G., Johnsrude, I.S., Good, C.D., Ashburner, J., Frackowiak, R.S., & Frith, C.D. (2000). Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers.