How Leaders Can Help Employees Unplug and Combat Digital Burnout
Nearly everyone has, at some point, had trouble toggling between too many apps for work.
Using too many apps not only drains time due to task switching, but can lead to miscommunication, disorganization, and information overload.
The Harvard Business Review studied 20 teams of three Fortune 500 Companies to assess digital workplace efficiency. They found workers switch between apps as much as 1,200 times daily, equaling roughly 4 hours a week of lost productivity.
The problem is also well acknowledged by teams that are closest to overly large tech stacks. According to Freshwork’s State of Workplace Technology report, 89% of global IT professionals say “bloated technology” wastes significant time each week.
Hopping between apps leaves employees with a disorganized, disorienting user experience. For IT teams, this means spending more time on maintenance, updates, and integration efforts, diverting resources from more important tasks.
Understanding Digital Overload?
When someone has too many apps to juggle at a time, this can quickly lead to a sense of overwhelm. This condition is known as app overload, or tech overwhelm.
Most apps are made to improve productivity in some way, but when used excessively together, they can have the reverse effect. Constantly switching between apps can result in:
Decreased productivity: Employees are frequently interrupted by emails, messages, and notifications from various apps. One HBR report states that an average employee uses 12 apps or more daily. Every 37 minutes, employees check their email. Following this workflow disruption, it takes 23 minutes on average to refocus. This pace of interruptions is detrimental to output quality and efficiency.
Loss of creativity: Absorption of digital information might lead to a loss of creativity. Professionals frequently lack the time and mental space necessary for creative problem-solving because they are preoccupied with handling digital tasks.
Problems with Storage and Performance: Every app uses storage space on a device. Installing an excessive number of apps might quickly exhaust the available storage. This may lead to decreased battery life, sluggish device operation, and even crashes.
Difficulty Locating Important Information: When many apps are installed, it can be difficult to find particular information when you need it. It can also be annoying and time-consuming to use search features or scroll through multiple apps.
Security Risks: Installing more apps increases the chance of running into security flaws that could jeopardize device security or personal information.
App Incompatibility: Some applications might not work well with the device’s operating system or with one another, resulting in conflicts, crashes, or instability.
The solution to overcome digital overload lies in consolidating all apps and tools into a single platform: a modern intranet.
6 Reasons Why a Modern Intranet Can Help Organizations Unify Information and Enhance Employee Experience
Centralized Digital Workplace
A modern intranet is a central hub for all work-related information and tools. Advanced document management allows teams to store, organize, and share files seamlessly, ensuring everyone can access the latest versions.
Integrated calendars help keep track of meetings, deadlines, and events. Additionally, communication channels such as chat, forums, and announcements streamline internal communications, reducing the need for separate messaging apps. App consolidation simplifies workflows and enhances productivity, effectively overcoming the challenges of bloated tech stacks.
Streamlined Integration and Workflows
A well-designed intranet can seamlessly integrate with existing apps, creating a cohesive digital workspace. For organizations using Microsoft, integrating M365 tools and features becomes even easier.
By connecting tools like Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, and Power Apps, employees no longer need to toggle between multiple platforms. For instance, you can access emails, update project statuses in Planner, collaborate on documents in SharePoint and automate workflows using Power Automate, all within the intranet.
This integration reduces the time employees spend navigating through different applications. A central hub allows for smoother rollouts of new tools, making IT management more efficient.
Improved Employee Focus
Using a centralized platform minimizes distractions and reduces the barrage of notifications from multiple apps. When all essential tools and information are accessible through the intranet, employees can concentrate better on their tasks without the constant interruptions from switching apps or managing numerous notifications.
This focused environment helps maintain momentum and reduces tech burnout at work, allowing employees to complete their jobs more efficiently. By consolidating alerts and communications in one place, a modern intranet helps employees stay organized and attentive, combating tech fatigue and fostering a more focused and productive work environment.
Enhanced Digital Employee Experience
A modern intranet reduces digital friction by uniting apps and tools into a single digital experience. This consolidation clarifies complex technology stacks, providing employees with one intuitive space to find the knowledge they need. Gartner’s 2021 Digital Worker Experience Survey found that workers satisfied with unified digital employee experience applications are twice as likely to stay with their current organization. Creating a tech-friendly workplace culture improves the digital employee experience (DEX) and reduces digital friction.
Dissolved Knowledge Silos
Gartner found that 47% of digital workers struggle to find the information or data needed to perform their jobs effectively. Employees can make better decisions faster by integrating data from different systems into a single, contextual view. It’s not just about searching multiple repositories simultaneously; it’s about combining specific data points from various systems into one view, delivering insights that were previously harder to spot.
Bulletproof Security and Access from Anywhere
Remote and mobile solutions have blurred the network’s edge, amplifying cybersecurity threats and increasing the workload for IT teams. The shift to hybrid work has introduced numerous vulnerable surfaces to cyber-attacks, particularly as using multiple apps can be more susceptible to these threats.
This fragmentation burdens IT teams with the challenge of monitoring all the apps. However, uniting them into an intranet simplifies monitoring and management. Secure APIs, single sign-on security, multiple-factor authentication (MFA) with industry-standard OAuth 2.0, and secure encrypted credential storage ensure that users can safely access the platform and its offerings from anywhere.
By uniting your tech stack within a modern intranet, you can combat app overload, and enhance productivity.
The Financial Benefits of Using Fewer Apps
Using too many apps can significantly impact a company’s finances through increased software licensing fees, subscription costs, and IT support expenses, which add up quickly, especially as the company grows.
Consolidating apps and streamlining the tech stack can lead companies to reduce their licensing and subscription expenses and minimize IT support needs. Fewer apps also mean less training for employees, further reducing support costs.
Beyond direct financial savings, reducing technology fatigue can lead to notable productivity gains. Uniting tech stakes boosts employee morale and efficiency, reduces tech debt, improves overall output and offers a potential ROI that extends beyond the bottom line.
Conquering Tech Fatigue
We live in an app-saturated workplace, which is a leading cause of employee frustration and digital friction. A modern intranet is a powerful tool to combat tech overwhelm by centralizing the digital workplace and integrating essential tools into one platform. Organizations should explore the benefits of a modern intranet to streamline their operations, improve employee focus, and achieve significant cost savings. Embracing a unified digital workspace can transform how your team works, boosting productivity and overall success.
