New research shows that poor technology and the digital friction it creates is hurting productivity in hybrid work.
A study by Scalable Software surveyed 2,000 employees and found that the average digital employee experience (DEX) has declined since the first study in 2021, and that current technologies and processes are It turned out to be a waste of time. According to Scalable Software, the decline in DEX is adding 3.1 weeks to workers’ hours per year, an increase of nearly one week compared to the additional 2.2 weeks when the survey was conducted in 2021.
Almost one-fifth (18%) of employees believe their employer-provided DEX is “insufficient”, up from 15% in 2021. Only 34% of employees think DEX is “right for them.”
A key factor is digital friction, defined by Gartner as “the unnecessary effort extended by employees using technology to do their jobs,” which hurts productivity and underpins the decline in DEX. .
Mark Cresswell, Co-Founder, Scalable Softwaresays in a report that while hybrid work as a whole faces increased scrutiny as more organizations mandate some form of return to the office post-pandemic, the real question is where digital technology will It states that it is a digital technology regardless of whether it is utilized in
Importantly, however, this study reveals that hybrid work itself is not the cause of lower employee productivity. It is the lack of her DEX knowledge that the worker is exposed to that affects the worker’s ability to work effectively. And this is true no matter how your employees work remotely, hybrid, or in the office. In our research, half (50 percent) of all knowledge workers say their work productivity decreases when their DEX goes negative. ”
Other notable findings include the various examples that digital friction constitutes, with many employees citing “application switching” (35%) and “notification overload” as contributing factors to DEX decline. (30%). “Complex workflows that require additional work
“Steps to complete even routine tasks” was cited by 28%, and just under a quarter (24%) cited “difficult and confusing user interfaces.”
It is estimated that knowledge workers waste an average of 2.83 hours per week tackling technology failures, poor system performance, and suboptimal designs and workflows. The study found that companies with 1,501 to 2,000 employees (3.58 hours) and companies with 2,001 to 3,000 employees (3.4 hours), as well as business services (3.42 hours) and communications (3.68 hours), It becomes clear that the loss is even greater.
The overall impact of DEX decline equates to a loss of 5.55 hours per week for an individual knowledge worker.
Perhaps most worryingly, almost two-thirds (62%) of those surveyed do not understand how their IT department works or provides personalized services. 49% of respondents said the same in 2021.
Many respondents said a decline in DEX had a negative impact on their job satisfaction (43 percent). In 2021, he was 38 percent. Significantly more respondents said it would make them want to quit their job in 2024 (29 percent) than in 2021 (18 percent).
“The debate about working from home versus working in the office will continue for some time,” Cresswell added. “But that’s a smokescreen for the fundamental problem that the data in this report reveals. Many organizations today are struggling to create digital experiences that enable knowledge workers to be productive and efficient, regardless of their location. We are not able to provide it.”
Hybrid work and the challenges of returning to the office
The past year has seen some significant research into the future of hybrid working and the mandate to return to the office.
KPMG’s 2023 CEO Outlook survey reveals that almost two-thirds of CEOs want to eliminate hybrid work within three years.
The survey surveyed 1,325 CEOs of companies with revenues of $500 million or more, and found that 64% of CEOs plan to return to pre-pandemic fully on-site working within the next three years. It turned out that it was. His 87% of CEOs aimed to achieve this goal by combining financial incentives and advancement opportunities with on-site attendance.
A survey of nearly 15,000 professionals and employers by recruitment agency Hays found that more professionals are working exclusively in the office than in a hybrid model. According to it, in 2023 more than two-fifths (43 percent) of employees will work exclusively in the office, and only less than two-fifths (39 percent) will adhere to a hybrid model. ).
Other Hays research shows that while more than three-fifths of employers still offer hybrid working (61%), almost a quarter have changed their hybrid working policies and asked employees to do so within a year. 24% said they expected to be required to return to the office. Or reduce your work-from-home day assignments.
Finally, Gallagher found that 63% have changed their office space due to changes in the way they work, challenging the idea that a return to pre-pandemic ways of working is inevitable. This figure accounts for more than a fifth (21 percent) of businesses planning to move to a smaller office, more than a third considering moving to shared office space, and seven percent have already migrated office space.
The scale of the post-pandemic changes to working styles is illustrated by the fact that more than two-thirds of UK companies have introduced hybrid working due to employee demand for more flexible working (69 per cent). Masu. Additionally, three-fifths of business leaders say they wish they had had a hybrid model before the pandemic because it has been so successful.
