Employers Say They're Communicating Company Goals, But 80 Percent of Employees Are Unaware

According to Slingshot’s Digital Work Trends Report, More Than Half of Employees Say That Increased Transparency Around Company Goals Would Make Them More Productive

Slingshot, the work management platform from software company Infragistics that brings data to the center of everything teams work on, has released the second part of findings from its Digital Work Trends Report. The report reveals that most employees are unaware of how their individual contributions at work support larger company goals and growth. Only 23% of employees feel educated on company goals, which is in stark contrast with the 84% of leaders who say they’re effectively communicating business goals, objectives and key results to employees. More than half of employees (51%) say that having increased transparency into these goals would help them to better manage their workload and drive productivity. Slingshot’s Digital Work Trends Report explores the key factors that impact workers’ productivity from the perspective of both employees and employers. The report dives into how transparency into company goals, time spent on digital devices, workload and workplace tools play a role in employees’ productivity and performance. The new research also shines a light on how company leaders feel they are currently supporting employees’ productivity–and the extent to which employees feel supported. HR Tech Insights: ADP Research: Only 24 Percent of Global Workers Confident in Skills for Career Advancement “When employees don’t have insight into their company’s goals, they’re largely unaware of how their daily work fits into the bigger picture of the company, which can cause them to feel unmotivated, confused on priorities and unproductive,” said Dean Guida, Founder of Slingshot. “Leaders need to regularly communicate these goals across the organization so employees continuously feel connected to their roles and the larger company.” The new, two-part report is based on research conducted by market research firm Dynata, on behalf of Slingshot. Among the findings:

• One in three workers have digital fatigue–and it’s impacting productivity at work. With teams spending an average of 8 hours a day on screens (i.e. computer, television, phone) for both work and recreational activities, it’s no wonder one-third (34%) of workers say they’re overwhelmed by the amount of time they spend on digital devices. With an excessive amount of screen time comes lower productivity with 41% of teams saying they feel burnt out due to digital fatigue and  18% saying they’re not giving tasks their full attention and decreasing the quality of deliverables.
• Too many apps are taking too much of employees’ attention. Nearly half (42%) of employees and leaders use five or more workplace applications per day, with 12% saying they use seven or more. This overload of apps is taking more than just teams’ time–but their productivity. Sixteen percent (16%) of teams say using too many applications contributes most to their digital exhaustion and nearly one-fourth (24%) say that app notifications are distracting to daily tasks.

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• Older employees don’t feel overloaded with work to the extent that other generations do. Most employees (70%) have felt overloaded at work, but Boomer employees feel the least amount of pressure when it comes to workload. More workers aged 60+ say they aren’t overloaded with work (52%) than cite any one situation when they feel overloaded. This is compared with 16% of Gen Z workers (ages 18-27) , 21% of Millennials (ages 28-43) and 31% of Gen X + Y workers (ages 44-59) that feel the same. Boomer employees also feel less digital fatigue than younger employers, with 53% of Gen Z-ers feeling digitally exhausted compared to 18% of Boomers.
• Employees want leaders to set expectations for after-hours availability. More than one-third (38%) of employees and leaders feel pressure to respond to work-related correspondence outside of work hours. To address this and encourage more work-life balance, employees want employers to encourage them to unplug at the end of the workday (67%), not expect employees to be available after hours (55%) and not ask employees for deliverables after work hours(45%).

“Productivity within a company is a critical measure of business success and growth, which is why it’s such a focus for employers. The key to boost productivity within any organization is to connect employees to their work and the business, support and guide employees with everything they do and foster an environment for them to continuously innovate,” continued Guida.

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Source – GlobeNewswire