ActivTrak Productivity Lab Report: Employees Risk Digital Overload with 20% More Technology, While Productivity and Focus Decrease Throughout the Year

ActivTrak today released its 2023 State of the Workplace Report: Productivity and Engagement Data Trends, a study of digital workplace behaviors revealing that employees risk digital overload with 20% more tools, sites and apps in 2022, while productivity and focus declined throughout the year. Meanwhile, nearly 30% of employees remain at risk of attrition due to disengagement or burnout.

The Productivity Lab report examined two years of anonymized insights based on 134,260 employees, 911 customers and 173,983,200 hours worked, representing one of the most direct and objective studies of productivity based on actual behavioral data (vs. self-reported surveys). The study looked at year over year comparisons between 2021 and 2022, focusing on three key areas of research: productivity, technology and employee engagement.  

Key Findings 

Technology findings suggest a risk of digital overload for employees.

• Employees interacted with 20% more tools, sites and apps in 2022
• Time spent in the following tools increased, suggesting a change in priorities, workstyles, investments or processes: design tools +18%, admin/IT tools +13%, developer tools +9% and system processes tools +5%.

Engagement findings suggest opportunities to better balance employee workloads. 

• 28% of employees risk attrition due to disengagement or burnout.
• 24% of employees are overutilized and 4% of employees are underutilized.
• 12% of employees spent the majority of their year (75%) in an overutilized state.
• While the number of employees who worked on weekends remained small (5%), the length of time they spent doing so increased (+18 mins).
• Computer hardware and media industry companies recorded +4 hrs more weekend work than other industries, up 31% (to 11.5 hrs) and 53% (to 10.7 hrs) respectively. 

Productivity findings suggest that while business needs and technology usage continue to evolve, the anatomy of the work day remains consistent.

• The average workday spanned 10+ hours, with employees spending roughly the same amount of time behind the screen (7 hrs 24 mins/day).
• Productivity trended higher (+4 mins/day) in the first six months of the year compared to the second half of the year.
• Q1 saw the greatest productivity (7 hrs 1 min) and focus (4 hrs 47 mins), while Q4 had the least productivity (6 hrs 53 mins) and Q3 had the least focus (4 hrs 37 mins).
• Tuesday was the most productive day (6 hrs 59 mins) compared to Friday which was the least (6 hrs 44 mins). 
• Focus time was greatest on Mondays (4 hrs 42 mins) and lowest on Fridays (4 hrs 34 mins).

“While this year’s data shows work habits are normalizing – indicating a more permanent adaptation to hybrid work – there are still significant opportunities to improve productivity, focus and employee well-being in the digital workplace. For example, organizations should consider reducing digital distractions by simplifying tech stacks, and preserving employee well-being by more thoughtfully balancing workloads across teams,” said Gabriela Mauch, vice president of ActivTrak’s Productivity Lab. 

“Throughout the last year’s challenging economic environment, the Productivity Lab has labored on the front lines with our customers to help them better understand and respond to the realities of today’s workplace — enabling them to not only continue to compete, but to thrive,” said Mark Ralls, CEO, ActivTrak.

To learn more about ActivTrak’s workforce analytics platform and see how your workplace compares to the 2023 State of the Workplace Report findings, visit: 

• Download the report: 2023 State of the Workplace Report: Productivity and Engagement Data Trends
• Read the blog: 2023 State of the Workplace: Productivity and Engagement Trends
• Attend/watch the webcast: What Do 2022 Productivity & Engagement Trends Mean for Your Org?
• ActivTrak customers: Request a Productivity Snapshot to see how your productivity data stacks up to our latest benchmarks

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Contact:
Cybele Diamandopoulos
ActivTrak, Inc.
[email protected]