Technology and colleagues disrupt the hybrid workplace

Nexthink has published findings from its latest report, The Drivers of Digital Employee Experience (DEX), which looked at employees biggest IT experience and disruption problems and found that both technology and colleagues are the biggest sources of frustration. 93% of more than 1,000 employees reported technology impeding productivity in one way or another. The top reported “technology issue” impeding productivity and focus time – were “human distractions” and the need to go home to get work done (according to 55% of the respondents who reporting not having enough focus time) or enforce boundaries around focus time such as turning off phones, booking fake meetings (33% reported implementing this digital self-defence).

“What we have found over the years in our research and anecdotal experience is that technology is often both the solution and the problem,” said Yassine Zaied, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer, Nexthink. “The question organizations should be asking themselves is how IT teams can combat these common issues while balancing individual team needs with the best interest of the company. We know technology is our greatest asset but having a true understanding of its failings and its potential is vital in creating positive digital experiences for employees.”

The report dug into these frustrations through a methodology of a 1,000+ respondent survey, 20 one-on-one interviews and 86 diary entries of a sub-group of employees to reveal their technology.

Additional key findings from the study include;

• Only half of respondents felt like technology was a strong enough asset for more efficiency.

o Of these disruptions, connectivity and application performance were the top technical roadblocks and these complaints remained the same when looking at remote vs in-office employees.

• Even a short amount of time (under 5 minutes and 5-10 minutes) with a disruption correlated with high frustration rates from employees, according to diary entries – painting an uphill battle for IT to win over employees trust and value.

• Exploring why employees are reluctant to reach out to IT with an issue, the top four responses were; fear of a lengthy support process, didn’t know if their tech issue was just them, or if it might be their fault, thought their issue was too minor, despite the frustration they felt or thought that IT couldn’t help.

• Unsurprisingly, the report found that when technology succeeded at supporting an employee’s productivity the more satisfied that employee felt.

Past research has shown us that 20% of employees would opt to leave their job because of a poor IT experience. With technology and experience critical to both productivity, overall employee happiness and ROI, it’s imperative that IT “get it right.” This new report by Nexthink offers additional insights into the modern IT landscape and how to get back on track with focus time, devices and connectivity. For more information, check out the full report.