Why I love working in the end-user and work-group computing field!
I have worked in this area for most of my working life and it continues to amaze me that it is still an area of IT that has the – untapped – potential to transform peoples lives. Most of the customers I work with are struggling to deal with all the information they have to cope with in their work and home life (which are becoming more integrated). They live high-bandwidth lifestyles! Its with great interest therefore that I read the following results from the Information Work Productivity Council (IWPC) which is an independent group of companies and academics that have joined together to study the issue of information work productivity. The goal of the Council is to build a model that measures productivity in today’s information-centric business environment.
They recently published the results of a survey into how the average user spends their time at work. According to the study, the average user:
- Spends 3 hours and 14 minutes a day using technologies to process work-related information—just over 40% of an 8-hour work day
- Devotes 1.58 hours/day to e-mail (49% of the information processing time, and 20% of an 8 hour day
- Spends 47 minutes, or 24% of IP time on telephone and voice mail
- Receives 44 e-mails daily (a few people received as many as 500 a day)
- Sends 17 e-mails daily and has more than 3 e-mail accounts
- Receives 18 calls, places 15 calls, and gets 7.6 voice mail messages
- Participates in 2.75 conference calls a week (if any)
There are huge opportunities for companies to help workers be more productive personally, in teams, and in the context of the organisation in which they work, and I look forward to continuing to help them! This blog touches on a few of the areas I am interested in including the processes and technologies associated with:
- Personal Knowledge Management
- Personal Effectiveness
- Team Effectiveness
- Collaboration
- Team Working
- Workspace Design
- Home Working
- Mobility
- Work Life Balance
