You’ve probably seen the funny clip of the TV show, I Love Lucy, where Lucy and Ethel are working on an assembly line at chocolate factory. The humor comes from the pair being unable to keep up with a fast moving conveyor belt.
Now we find out that across the globe, many white collar workers are feeling the same way. The LexisNexis 2010 International Workplace Productivity Survey asked 1,700 white collar workers in the United States, China, South Africa, United Kingdom and Australia about the amount of information they receive on the job. ?62% say the quality of their work suffers because they can’t sort through all the information they need fast enough.
During the past two years, 10 percent more workers in the U.S. say they spend half their work day receiving and managing information.
Across the globe, more than 50% say if the info increase continues, they’ll soon hit a breaking point, when they’ll be unable to handle any more. The majority also say they feel demoralized?when they can?t manage all the information that comes their way at work.
Smart companies will look to boost productivity by training workers in communication skills as well as invest in tools that will dam the flood. I’ve written about how an over-reliance on email can create communication problems. 60% of those surveyed in the U.S. say the?combination of constant accessibility and the incessant flow of email makes it harder to focus on their work.
The challenge of information overload is not going away anytime soon. But your team can be trained to get around these obstacles.
