New research from Unily, a market-leading Employee Experience Platform, highlights the negative impact of workplace interruptions caused by digital notifications on employee wellbeing and productivity. The majority of employees and managers agree that companies are not effectively addressing the issue of digital noise, draining businesses’ ability to stay competitive and adapt to today’s market driven by volatile economic fluctuations and technological advancements.
The rate at which workers report being distracted should be of critical concern to business leaders. Unily’s latest research report, the Digital Noise Impact Report, shows that nearly half of all employees are distracted at least once every 30 minutes, and almost a third report being distracted at least once every 15 minutes by a workplace notification. That means employees working eight-hour days could be experiencing over 160 distractions from their workplace digital tools each week.
Tools designed to streamline tasks and enhance collaboration are having the opposite effect, with the constant barrage of notifications, messages and updates taking a toll on employees’ mental wellbeing and causing significant stress. Nearly six in 10 employees report that digital tools add to their workplace stress, with the biggest contributors revealed to be video conferencing systems (44%), email platforms (39%) and instant messaging applications (36%).
In addition, employees and managers don’t think their companies are addressing the growing problem of digital noise in the workplace. Close to half of all managers and almost two in five employees believe companies aren’t implementing enough processes to combat the impact of digital noise, suggesting leadership isn’t taking the problem seriously enough.
Chris Ciauri, Chief Executive Officer at Unily, said: “Our report delivers sobering findings on the impact of digital noise in today’s workplace, driving organisational lethargy and poor employee experiences. At the same time, we see some of the world’s largest and most complex organisations taking the opportunity to improve workplace engagement, with data showing the crucial role a simplified digital landscape and considered use of AI can play in reducing operational friction and increasing efficiency.”
Yet, despite the challenges that digital noise is causing, some tools are exceedingly viewed as effective in helping us do our jobs. Email, for example, was reported by 91% of respondents as effective in doing their jobs. Other effective tools include intranet and internal communications (84%), messaging platforms (83%) and video conferencing (80%).
While many applications offer rudimentary on/off switches for their notifications, a total blackout may not be the answer. Nearly three in five (58%) believe that notifications have the potential to make them feel productive and informed.
The problem lies in how digital notifications interrupt workers mid-task, placing a tax on time and attention. This can impede their ability to handle context switching, fragmenting attention between tasks, applications and screens. Unily’s data shows that two-thirds (67%) want more control over when and where they receive their notifications, highlighting the need for a smarter solution than a simple mute button.
Workers showed a resounding belief in the potential of AI to help quiet the digital noise. Most (59%) believe that AI could reduce excessive notifications and prioritise notifications (62%), and nearly half (45%) believe their organisation should deploy AI to do so.