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How to reduce work about work and power productivity

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An increasing number of employees say they’re working more hours than ever before, while many are feeling burned out. Most of that extra workload can be traced to “work about work,” which involves disruptive, time-consuming, and often redundant tasks that have nothing to do with talent, skill, or impact. With more companies allowing people to work from home permanently, leaders need to take action to mitigate challenges caused by work about work. To better understand this issue and how it can be alleviated, Asana surveyed 13,000 knowledge workers across eight countries for its Anatomy of Work Index 2021. Here are the findings.

It’s been nearly two years since the pandemic forced the world to work from home. While that transition has been remarkable, it’s not without its challenges.

More and more work about work

Instead of focusing on strategic work, employees spend a growing share of their days in meetings, switching between apps, searching for information in email, and compiling status updates. All this work about work hinders productivity and hurts job satisfaction.

Where employees spend their time

Where employees lose their time

Work about work

Skilled work

Forward-looking strategy

hours

Unnecessary meetings:

Duplicated work:

Working late:

60%

26%

14%

157

236

455

Average additional hours worked per employee

App switching and multitasking

Remote work has caused employees to use more apps more often in an attempt to recreate the physical office. However, each time an employee stops what they’re doing to respond to a message, prepare for a video call, or provide a status update, they are pulled out of their focus state. It causes productivity to suffer.

The wrong kind of disruption

Average number of apps used per day

Number of times workers app switch per day

The top three impacts of app switching

Staff who say messages and actions get missed

Staff who say they are less efficient

Staff who say work is duplicated

27%

26%

24%

213

80%

72%

Staff who say they work with their inbox or other communication apps open

Staff who feel pressure to multitask because of open apps

The multitasking tax

Multitasking is more than a distraction. It can seriously disrupt work and drain mental energy. It happens when you interrupt what you’re working on to join an impromptu call or respond to a message about an unrelated project.

time and your energy. For that reason, it’s almost always more efficient to monotask: Focus on one thing and move on when you’re done, so you don’t pay unnecessary switching taxes.”

Multitasking is a myth. In reality, it’s rapidly switching from one task to another, and then back again. And every time you make that switch, you pay a ‘tax’ on both your

Dr. Sahar Yousef, cognitive neuroscientist, UC Berkeley

Top barriers to productivity, according to workers

Having too much work to do

Having to respond to emails and messages

Having too many meetings and video calls

The burnout dilemma

Employees are suffering. According to Asana’s Anatomy of Work Index, 71% of respondents experienced burnout at least once in the past year.

Causes of burnout, according to workers

Being overworked

Unable to switch off or disconnect

Lack of clarity on tasks and roles

40%

32%

29%

36%

29%

Impacts of burnout, according to workers

Lower morale

More mistakes made

Lack of engagement with work

27%

26%

Miscommunication

More time required to get work done

SONJA GITTENS OTTLEY, HEAD OF DIVERSITY, INCLUSION & BELONGING, ASANA

safe environment where everyone is comfortable speaking up, asking for help, and stating what they need. In addition, leaders need to focus on reducing distractions for their team so everyone can prioritize the most important work and shed work that’s not impactful.”

All around the world, burnout has reached new peaks due to the pandemic. To help combat burnout, leaders need to actively think about how to create a psychologically

The resilient reset

As workplaces return to normal—or adjust to a new normal—employers have an opportunity to confront the rise in work about work, increase employee engagement, and help their organizations flourish.

44%

39%

37%

What will motivate workers to do their best work?

Having work that’s engaging and enjoyable

Knowing that my work will add value to the business

Knowing that my work will support my career progression

34%

28%

24%

Knowing how my work contributes to the company’s mission

Understanding how my work supports my teammates

Understanding how my work supports my manager

35%

29%

What can employers do to improve work?

Offer more flexible working hours

Encourage people to take time off and/or minimize working outside standard work hours

Provide clear processes and clarity on what work needs to be prioritized

Reduce the number of meetings and video calls and create guidelines to make them more effective

28%

26%

21%

20%

Encourage people to take daily uninterrupted focus time for deep and skilled work

Invest in new tools and technology for collaboration

Provide a forum for employees to socialize

Offer more remote face time with teams and managers

Respondents at organizations with 5,000+ employees who want their organization to provide clearer processes and more clarity on priorities

32%

Organizational checklist to improve employee engagement

Eliminate unnecessary meetings, block out time for focused work, and streamline workflows across teams

Reduce work about work:

Help employees balance work and life responsibilities and allow flexibility in how and when they get their tasks done

Adopt a flexible attitude:

Given organizations are organized functionally, but work happens cross functionally, leverage a work management platform to help teams work together more efficiently

Implement technology that aligns teams:

Create forums for feedback and act on it to create a people-centric culture

Enable open dialogue:

How a work management platform can help

Creates a living system of clarity around who is doing what, by when, and why

Increases transparency at all levels of the organization and between functional teams

Keeps the organization aligned around common goals

Makes cross-team collaboration more efficient and seamless

Increases employee productivity and impact while cutting time lost to work about work

Paige Costello, Core Product Leader, Asana

engaged. One way to do this is to create a single, collaborative plan of record around who is doing what by when and, of course, why. By linking cross-functional working plans directly to goals, individuals feel a greater sense of purpose and achievement when conducting their work.”

As employees prepare for the next chapter of work, leaders should be looking for ways to reduce distractions, increase focus time, and keep their teams connected and

Source: Anatomy of Work Index 2021, Asana

27%

Staff who say messages and actions get missed

26%

Staff who say they are less efficient

24%

Staff who say work is duplicated