🏁 Productivity
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Dec 9, 2024
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6 min read
144 emails per week received on average by employees in France. Nearly 200 for managers, and over 400 for executives. 80% of employees suffered from “information overload” in 2022. It was 60% in 2020. Well… Can we say that we have a problem?
📉 Information Overload, a Barrier to Productivity
“Computers are everywhere, except in productivity statistics.”
This cynical remark by Robert Solow dates back to 1987. Yet, it resonates particularly today with new technologies.
Yes, new technologies have opened doors that were once locked tight.
They have provided tools and resources that have made tasks easier and more efficient.
They have allowed for the automation of repetitive tasks, ostensibly freeing up time for more complex and creative work.
Collaboration and information-sharing platforms have therefore multiplied. A whole host of tools and applications that you’ve probably already used.
Suzy Canivenc, a research associate at the FIT chair at the Mines Paris school, discusses in her report (published in 2023) the “digital mille-feuille.” It shows that, despite their promise, these digital tools are ambivalent.
On one hand, they are levers for efficiency and streamlining processes.
On the other hand, they can be obstacles to productivity.
In France, 57% of employees report using at least six of these tools and apps daily. In 2020, it was 24% (!). It turns out that keeping up with all these communications and “staying in the loop” has become a part-time job.
According to the Anatomy of Work 2023, employees spend 58% of their workday on organizational tasks, or as the phrase goes, “work for work”:
Back-and-forth between applications
Redundant tasks
Unnecessary meetings
In short, any activity that prevents focus on the work that matters, the work for which your skills are needed and for which you were hired (if you’re an employee).
So-called “qualified” work represents only 33% and strategic tasks only 9%. Moreover, 62% of respondents say they spend too much time searching for information.
“The winners will be those who restructure how information flows in the company.” —Bill Gates
Beyond just wasting time, the digital environment increases the number of potential distractions.
According to a study conducted by Microsoft in 2023, 68% of people say they do not have enough uninterrupted focus time during their workday. And as mentioned in an article about multitasking, there’s a “switching cost” of 23 minutes and 15 seconds on average to refocus on a task after an interruption.
Your digital environment generally emphasizes your availability rather than your productivity. Every day brings its share of notifications, instant messages, and emails that can hinder productivity.
Microsoft also talks about “digital debt” in reference to this influx, which I would simplified as digital burden. The influx of information has exceeded our capacity to process it.
Biologically, your brain is designed to seek out information. When it is transmitted to you directly (as is the case in the digital world), it falsely signals to your brain that this information is urgent and important.
And when everything seems important, you spend your day trying to keep your head above water. In fact, 64% of respondents say they struggle to find the time and energy needed to do quality work.
Here’s a particularly telling statistic. Across all Microsoft 365 applications, the average employee spends:
57% of their time communicating (in meetings, by email, and via chat)
43% producing (in documents, spreadsheets, and presentations).
🌬 Mental Health & the Work-Personal Fog
The New York Times compared emails to zombies as early as 2010. You kill them, yet they always come back.
Few manage to defeat the final boss and achieve inbox zero. In France, an Observatory of Information Overload and Digital Collaboration (OICN) was established in early 2023.
This proves that the issue of information overload is beginning to gain importance.
They published a targeted study on email, which shows it generates:
Hyper-reactivity: 52% of emails receive a response in less than one hour.
Hyper-connectivity: 31% of employees send emails after 8 PM more than 50 nights a year (averaging 117 per year for executives).
“Managing them isn’t considered production time, so we tend to do it in addition to our work. This extends the workday and workload.” — Mathilde Le Coz, HR Director of Mazars (which is part of the OICN)
This continuous influx of information, messages, and emails mentally fatigues you. This mental exhaustion, coupled with a persistent sense of falling behind, creates a toxic cocktail for well-being.
This reality is exacerbated by the new technological paradigm and the advent of remote work, which has catapulted workers into an era of 24/7 connectivity.
The ability to be connected and work from anywhere, at any time.
An over-demand that acts as fertile ground for psychological distress and potentially burnout.
2.5 million French people, or 13% of employees, suffer from severe burnout, according to a study conducted in 2022. Examples of observations generated by this hyper-connectivity:
Employees working well beyond working hours.
Personal phones being used as work tools.
Access to professional emails and documents from anywhere.
Technology has particularly blurred the boundary between work and personal life.
By the way, do you belong to the 30% of active people who check their emails or Slack or Teams notifications first thing in the morning upon waking?
Of course, this doesn’t mean you should never work or send emails outside of “normal” working hours. My opinion is that it should be a genuinely intentional decision, not something you fall into.
☄️ The Importance of Focus and Keys to Achieve It
“The future of work is not about working less, but working differently.” —Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
Mastering digital distractions is becoming a competitive advantage in this hyperconnected age.
The ability to work efficiently by making technology a tool rather than a distraction. Knowing how to focus, taking in the right information, and setting barriers against unnecessary distractions. These will be increasingly sought-after skills in the workplace.
As Cal Newport states in his important book, Deep Work: “Focus is the new IQ.”
For companies as well as for individual employees, it is crucial to set boundaries against information overload. Getting out of the loop.
To do this, it’s not just a matter of willpower (which is limited and decreases throughout the day). It’s primarily about the environment and safeguards.
Creating a digital and physical environment that suits your job/activity, putting you in the right conditions to concentrate. It’s crucial to reassess your relationship with the digital world. Here are some tips at random:
🔕 Reconsider your notifications: limit them as much as possible, keeping only those that are truly urgent active.
📨 Process your emails in batches at specific times each day.
👀 Avoid checking emails on your phone before starting work.
💬 Prioritize asynchronous communication over synchronous communication.
📵 Schedule complete disconnection times; in the morning and evening. And stick to it.
📦 Put your phone in another room during focus times.
🎧 Buy noise-canceling headphones to limit external interruptions, at work and at home.
🔒 Block distractions with Jomo. Yes, block the applications that bother you. Your focus will thank you!
