'A third of emails go unread'

Employees are struggling to navigate, organise and digest the amount of data they receive, with one in three emails being overlooked, according to research by Mindjet.

The study highlights that whilst British workers might receive small amounts of data, when it comes from multiple sources it quickly becomes hard to manage, negatively impacting the business bottom line and making workers unhappy.

The survey looked at what the average worker did in a day. It found they received 36 emails a day, of which a third go unread. They attend one meeting, make five telephone or conference calls and just 20 per cent spend any time on social networking sites during a typical day at the office. Two thirds (65.2 per cent) of office workers say that the amount of data they are receiving negatively affects their job.
 
The research, which surveyed 2,000 UK office workers, found more than one in ten people (14%) are enjoying their job less. The average office worker spends over 21 minutes a day, the equivalent of over two working weeks per year, searching for information they’ve seen but can’t find.

Chris Harman, Regional Vice President for Northern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Mindjet, which focuses on improving how people work together, comments: “This research has shown it doesn’t take much to feel like we’re drowning in data at work. It is costing businesses and affecting employee motivation, which is why companies have to encourage new ways of working and help their employees better manage data.

“The way we have to work today involves assimilating information from many sources and the fact we’re struggling to do this is a very real business issue – one that will only increase as we enter the big data era. We can’t afford to be held back by the volume of information when the climate is so tough. Something as simple as searching for information can have a big effect at a time when businesses are looking to free up employees' time to be more innovative and productive in order to stimulate the growth most are looking for in 2012.”
 
You can find out how well you cope with information at work by using Mindjet’s online Data Mass Index Calculator: http://mydmi.co.uk/.