Increase Productivity by Reducing Technology Distraction: Lessons from Forrester Research

My views on “Classification of Cloud Computing Stakeholders”

By G C Network | July 12, 2008

In “Cloudy Times”, Markus Klems is having a good discussion on how cloud computing stakeholders classify the various infrastructure options. I then thought that it would be good for me…

The Implemetation of Network-Centric Warfare

By G C Network | July 12, 2008

The Implemetation of Network-Centric Warfare “Warfare is about human behavior in a context of organized violence directed toward political ends. So, network-centric warfare (NCW) is about human behavior within a…

Personal Views on DISA, HP and RACE

By G C Network | July 11, 2008

DISA and HP are clearly on the path towards cloud computing. At it’s core, net-centric operations requires the effective delivery of information to forward forces and the translation of that…

DISA selects HP for RACE

By G C Network | July 10, 2008

Byte and Switch reported today that the Department of Defense (DoD) has confirmed that HP will help the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) deploy a major cloud computing infrastructure. Grid…

Speakers for First SOA-R Event Announced

By G C Network | July 10, 2008

Scheduled speakers and topics for the first SOA-R Cloud Computing Education event are: Steve Armentrout, Parabon, President & CEO Grid to Cloud Computing Greg Boss, IBM, Lead Cloud Solution Architect…

Cloud Computing Offerings – A Taxonomy

By G C Network | July 9, 2008

From “The various level of cloud computing” by Ross Cooney Applications in the cloud: Software as a Service (SaaS). Examples include gmail, yahoo mail, Hotmail, the various search engines, wikipedia,…

Cloud Computing Guides (updated 8/10/08)

By G C Network | July 9, 2008

InfoWorld Special Report on Cloud Computing InformationWeek Guide to Cloud Computing InfoWorld Cloud Computing Strategy Guide Cloud Computing Product Guide A Brief History of Cloud Computing Business Week CEO Guide…

Microsoft announcing Cloud Computing offering

By G C Network | July 8, 2008

According to Information Week, Microsoft plans to make three important business software offerings — Exchange, Office Communications, and SharePoint — available in SaaS versions for business this year, but it’s…

Intel new CIO to examine Cloud Computing

By G C Network | July 7, 2008

In a ComputerworldUK article, incoming Intel CIO Diane Bryant says that she will network with fellow information chiefs, examine cloud computing and advocate using the chip giant’s internal operations as…

Cloud Computing for National Security

By G C Network | July 3, 2008

As the national security community considers cloud computing as an IT infrastructure option, it is surely looking at the value of the cloud in an information sharing world. Implementation of…

Workplace productivity is hurt every day by the very technology developed and purchased to improve it. Forrester announced this surprising conclusion in their latest “How To Wake Up From The Nightmare Of Workplace Technology Distraction†study. The Forrester Analytics Global Business Technographics® Workforce Benchmark Recontact Survey included 6,508 respondents in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, the UK, and the US. The study also noted that technology vendors now control the future of workplace distraction citing:

  • Apple’s move to make iPhones less addicting by adding the screen time features in iOS 12.35;
  • Google’s establishment of a dedicated Digital Wellbeing team to research how to design Android apps that deliver value in context without introducing distractions; and
  • Intel’s Project Athena, which aims to create next-generation experiences by inspiring technology to help employees maintain their focus.

This report provided essential practical steps for improving workplace productivity. The primary recommendation was establishing a balance between worker connectivity and focus. The business productivity tools highlighted by this study were email, telephones, and the computer.

One surprising fact discovered during the study was that employees open 70% of all emails within 6 seconds of receipt and that every one of these actions led to a 64-second loss in productivity while the employee tried to resume the interrupted task. While that amount of time may seem trivial, the average 84 emails received every day accumulates to 1.5 hours of lost productivity daily from a single method of communication. Smartphones are also a significant source of distraction. The mere presence of that connectivity device lying dormant on an employee’s desk introduces a distracting cognitive load that can weaken problem-solving skills and working memory. A growing societal bias toward connection is one of the main reasons why employees only spend 44% of their time fulfilling their primary job duties. The results highlighted that 90% of Americans have their phones within reach 24×7, and 36% say they never turn them off.

Cognitive specialists say that the constant stream of notifications rewires the brain’s dopamine response pathways, which make it more difficult for employees to curb smartphone distractions while at work. A secondary issue? Given the finite level of cognitive resources humans possess, employees who use their smartphones after work rob their stores of mental energy that could otherwise be made available for the next workday. Modern workplace computers themselves are also significant cognitive distractions. Windows 10’s frequent in-place upgrade program also has the potential to disrupt employees’ productivity significantly. Things like preventing interaction between business and personal apps, requiring separate logins for individual apps, or requiring password changes, are major culprits.

An organizational remedy for technological theft of employee cognitive resources is a strategic plan built around designing and building technology environments that limit distractions and enable employee focus. This path will also improve employees’ productivity, collaboration, and connection to customers. An essential component of such a strategic endeavor would be an enterprise commitment to purchase and maintain the vast majority of employee technology. This commitment also includes establishing policies that shape employee technology experience by monitoring and remediating technology related events that impact the employee experience. Monitoring tools can gather critical data on this experience. An example of this is the use of workforce analytics solutions to collect, measure, characterize and organize employee digital exhaust, which is the trail of data left by a user’s online activity.

People-centric tools from Citrix can help in this strategy by:

  • Conducting an inventory of all technology that affects employees’ daily productivity; and
  • Identifying the sources of workplace distraction

Citrix Digital Workplace, for example, can uncover productivity anomalies by analyzing user behavior, and use predictive analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to detect threats and provide actionable information. It can also protect data and IP by basing security controls on user context, regardless of app, data, device, or network. A digital workspace delivers secure, easy access to apps and data from a single interface, and users benefit from intelligent search capabilities, task automation, and a consistent experience across devices. These tools will also enable important cultural changes with technology implementation that helps create a holistic workplace distraction strategy.

When companies take the advice offered in the study, they should also embrace the four pillars that enable the focused worker, namely:

  • Strive to deliver an exceptional end user experience
  • Implement effective policy governance
  • Implement continuous monitoring of the employee workplace experience; and
  • Encourage collaboration among business peers to drive awareness and avoidance of workplace distractions

In a recent blog post by Citrix CMO Tim Minahan, he notes that ‘technology overload and complexity can hinder the employee experience and have a negative impact on employee engagement. With a rising war for talent and a largely disengaged workforce, leaders must use innovation as an enabler that helps their organizations get the best out of their people while removing noise and distractions.’ These insights were based on a recent collaboration with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to investigate the role technology plays in employee experience (“The Experience of Work: The Role of Technology in Productivity and Engagementâ€).

Citrix provides a unified, secure, and intelligent workspace that empowers people to do their best work, saving them time, reducing frustration, and delivering excellent user experience. Citrix Workspace offers a comprehensive set of workspace service offerings including single sign-on with multi-factor authentication, endpoint management, file sync and share, content collaboration, secure SaaS delivery, end-to-end analytics, intelligent guided feeds, web security and more. Learn more about the importance of establishing a corporate employee experience strategy by downloading the Forrester study or visiting Citrix at https://www.citrix.com/lp/digital-workspace-business.html.

This post sponsored by Citrix.

G C Network