‘Productivity Drops as Employers Neglect Hybrid Work’ – Slack Report

Half of UK employees believe their employers are failing to resolve hybrid work challenges

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Published: April 5, 2023

James Stephen

Technology Journalist

A Slack report has found that 50 percent of UK employees believe their employers are not doing enough to improve hybrid work which is resulting in reduced productivity.

Although 87 percent of IT leaders say they were investing in their business’ digital experience, productivity levels are down to nine hours a week spent on deep work for the average employee, which equates to one day of work per week.

Most of the working week for hybrid employees is frittered away navigating silos and taking part in unnecessary meetings.

Stuart Templeton, Head of UK at Slack, said“This is the first time businesses have faced tough economic headwinds since the majority adopted hybrid work.

“It’s clear from our research that many are still navigating the transition and have significant opportunities to improve alignment, efficiency, and productivity across their teams no matter where or when they work.

“Providing a good digital experience is critical to success in today’s digital-first world and it’s clear there’s a disconnect between IT leaders and employees on that front.

“Productivity platforms which connect and empower everyone with no-code automation and make it easier for people to find and share knowledge, are emerging as a source of major competitive advantage.”

The ‘How Productivity Platforms Can Power Business Impact’ Slack report surveyed 1650 UK knowledge workers and 350 IT decision makers and outlines the productivity obstacles and opportunities.

One of the solutions the report suggests will improve hybrid work is to increase meaningful connections.

A third of workers expressed concerns that the current approach to hybrid work employed by their business leaders has caused more silos and fragmented knowledge.

Businesses are failing to create meaningful connections with the company and between employees.

Twenty-four percent of employees reported fewer spontaneous conversations, resulting in fewer insights and information being shared, which reduces upskilling of junior co-workers.

While it is the 18–34 age group that prizes its freedom most, the same group has the highest concern about the lack of connection and opportunities to learn.

60 percent of workers feel that too many meetings drain business productivity.

7 hours and 42 minutes are spent in meetings for the average employee in the UK every week, which is nearly as much as the nine hours reportedly spent in deep work.

Since returning to the office, post-pandemic, 36 percent of employees revealed they spend more time on video calls than they did 12 months ago.

27 percent of workers believe that replacing 30-minute video meetings with shorter, audio-only meetings would increase productivity.

47 percent of IT decision makers (ITDMs) also think that productivity can be increased through automating mundane and repetitive tasks.

Employees are not yet clear on which areas automation can be applied, Slack concludes, based on only 27 percent of employees believing the same as the ITDMs.

The average large organisation uses over 1,000 pieces of software, which automation technology could help to streamline and simplify via monthly reports and more.

Recently, Slack deployed ChatGPT to increase efficiency for its estimated 10 million-plus daily users.

In January, a RingCentral report found that UK workers prefer hybrid working.

 

 

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