NYT: Attention-Juggling in the High-Tech Office

The New York Times posted an interview with Ed Reilly, president and chief executive of the American Management Association, on the problems of technology distractions.  I found this quote most interesting:

“Companies go to great lengths to set up lists of authorized approvals, meaning who can approve what size of purchase. But you will find that people who are not authorized to spend $100 on their own are authorized to send e-mails to people and waste hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of company time.”

We are currently working with a partner who is tackling this very problem.  By focusing on the time individuals spend in email and the time requirements they impose on others via their email habits we hope to make our customers more aware of the productivity impact of a good email management strategy and ultimately provide the catalyst for positive organizational change.  Stay tuned to the blog for more details as we march towards launch of this exciting new product.

Hat tip to 43 Folders for the link to the article.

One comment.

  1. Another Article on the Costs of Email Usage

    Clarissa Rodriguez writes in the Boston Herald article E-Mail Communication: Profit or Loss?:On average, employees spend two hours per day reading and responding to unproductive, low importance messages. That’s a hefty 12 weeks a year. What would you a…