Nathan Zeldes, David Sward ja Sigal Louchheim puuttuvat aiheeseen, joka maksaa paljon niin yrityksille, yhteiskunnalle kuin työntekijöillekin: informaatioähky. Artikkelissaan Infomania: Why we can’t ignore it any longer, julkaisussa First Monday, he vetävät aiheesta tehtyjä tutkimuksia yhteen nasakalla tavalla. Tiivistelmä:
The combination of e–mail overload and interruptions is widely recognized as a major disrupter of knowledge worker productivity and quality of life, yet few organizations take serious action against it. This paper makes the case that this action should be a high priority, by analyzing the severe impact of the problem in both qualitative and
quantitative terms. We attempt to provide sufficient supporting data from the scientific literature and from corporate surveys to enable change agents to make the case and convince their organizations to authorize such action.
Etenkin keskisuurissaa ja suurissa organisaatioissa työntekijät altistuvat informaatiotulvalle ja jatkuville työn keskeytyksille. Nämä kaksi tekijää yhdistettynä tuloksena on
- Direct loss of productive time
- Reduced mental capacity
- Disappearance of quality thinking time
- Breakdown of effective communication
- Breakdown of meeting effectiveness
- Breakdown of manager/subordinate interaction
- Breakdown of effective task and work planning
- Reduced quality of life
Ratkaisutkaan eivät ole helppoja, sillä
Development of programs to address and solve the problem will not be simple. This is especially true given its deeply entrenched nature and numerous misperceptions of impacted knowledge workers. For example, they inevitably claim they can “multi–task” without negative impact on their performance, despite extensive data to the contrary.
Kuitenkin:
A solution will require changes at the heart of expected behaviors and cultural paradigms in the organization, and possible modification of mission–critical technologies. Any program to achieve results will likely run initially for a year or more. It will involve professionals in the relevant disciplines from within the organization and beyond. Input from other corporations and support from research and consulting communities will be invaluable to avoid pitfalls and optimize solution elements.
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