Email isn’t the biggest obstacle to knowledge workers doing their jobs. But it’s a close second, according to a study by Workfront.
Asked to list their biggest work impediments, 57% cited wasteful meetings and 53% said email -- a percentage that rose from 43% last year. Of those complainants, 59% said they get bogged down by reading lengthy emails containing information that would be better presented in person.
In addition, among 2,000 workers surveyed in the U.S., 60% agreed that “the time I have to spend dealing with email is time could be more productive.”
The same percentage dislike following a conversation through lengthy email threads.
In addition, 54% griped about getting copied in on emails that are not part of their jobs, and 50% complained about someone replying to an email.
But 94% said they use email to manage their work, compared to spreadsheets (78%), shared documents (77%) and shared networks/and or folders (73%).
Apparently, the study did not delve into the workplace impact of marketing emails, but also found that many people spend time working from home.
Of those polled, 42% do not work from home. But 38% spend from one to ten hours, and 10% from 11 to 20 hours. Finally, 7% spend from 23 to 40 hours at home, and 3% 41-plus hours.
In general, knowledge workers want better tools and more flexibility.