In the survey that accompanied this research, nearly two-thirds of employees believed that they were no more productive today than they were 3 years ago. These emerging trends mean urgent action is required before the productivity gap widens still further.

Businesses face increasing competitive pressures from ongoing developments in a global economy, rapid advances in technology, an increasing pace of innovation and changes to working practices. Whilst there is not a consensus on what’s behind the problem, there is compelling evidence that too few businesses prioritise productivity and still fewer actually measure it. This limits businesses’ pursuit of productivity enhancing management practices and therefore how effectively they are run.

This project aims to contribute to understanding one aspect of the productivity puzzle – how the adoption of digital technologies in organisations, alongside the effective use of people and wider resources, can drive smarter working and support the missing business improvements required to turn the situation round. Whilst there has been an explosion in research documenting the disruptive effects of technology, this has primarily focused on the hollowing out of jobs and the replacement of routine and standardised tasks. There has been less of a focus on how technology enriches work and can enable people to work in more intelligent and smarter ways, making more effective use of the technology. This research aims to begin to address this imbalance. It focuses specifically on office workers, though by necessity considers the implications of evidence on other workers too. This builds on research we conducted last year examining the “realities” of a working anywhere culture supporting more flexible and in particular remote working.

Read the full report here

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  Digital Boundaries and Disconnection at Work – A Guide for Employers

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