We’re not as productive as you might think.
Or as much as Silicon Velley imagined as they upended human activity by introducing computers to everyday life.
Microsoft, a company whose archetypal software revolutionized office productivity, asked 20,000 workers in Europe if all this technology was making them feel more productive.
11.4% responded with a resounding, “Yea!” The rest were perhaps checking Facebook.
“We’re multi-tasking more and more, but it’s at a cost of deeper thought, more attention to detail, time to actually think things through,” says U of H computer whiz and Information Security System Faculty member Chris Bronk.
"Modern workers have an abundance of technology at their fingertips," said the report. "But this availability doesn't necessarily translate into impact."
The constant connectivity that has come to define modern life – how we date, shop, listen to music, and communicate – comes with notifications and other constant reminders that there are other things requiring our attention, impacting our concentration and focus, and productivity. Blame it on viral cat videos and Carpool Karaoke.
“We’re a society that is amusing itself to death,” says Bronk.