AtTask Survey: Workers Overwhelmed by Deadlines Blame Lack of Focus and Constant Interruptions

SILICON SLOPES, Utah, Nov. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- By nature of its name, work can take a lot of work.  But a new industry survey from AtTask dives deeper into the trends that are making work a living hell for some. While no job is a walk in the park, the new research shows the daily grind of avoidable work issues and interruptions are wearing down a staggering amount of employees, decreasing productivity and overall morale. 

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The enterprise work management survey conducted by AtTask looked at the underlying reasons that workers miss deadlines, need to work overtime and/or lose confidence and morale for the companies they work for. The survey shows nearly three in five workers—approximately 60 percent—are either completely overwhelmed or barely meeting their deadlines.

The survey also explored a wide range of factors that increase stress levels among employees and prevent workers of all types from performing their best work.

Key findings from the survey include:

• Crushing Interruptions – The top reasons listed for late work include too many interruptions (26 percent), unavailable resources (24 percent), lack of time (22 percent) and changing priorities (19 percent). Of those surveyed, a whopping 37 percent list "Too Many Interruptions" as the primary culprit contributing to work hell.
• Lack of Focus – People dread going to work because all-too-often their work does not directly impact the company strategy. According to one-third of respondents, less than half of work is tied to company strategy. Nearly 24 percent of people say their work priorities change daily, resulting in a shift in their workload.
• Famine of Recognition and Purpose – Nearly half of respondents only receive recognition for their work once a quarter or less frequently. A remarkable 18 percent have never received praise or recognition for their work.
• Never-ending Overtime – Of the respondents, 50 percent work more than 40 hours a week, with 8 percent working 60 hours or more per week. Half of respondents feel that they are understaffed, resulting in lots of work after business hours.

According to Bryan Nielson, Chief Marketing Officer at AtTask, the issues plaguing workers are all avoidable. "More often than not, workplaces are overrun with chaos, which turns into 'work hell'," said Nielson. "'Work hell,' is the result of anything from poor visibility across teams, to too many out-of-sync collaborative tools, to a simple breakdown of communications processes. With the right balance of technology, tools and revamped processes in place, organizations can work smarter and more productively, while also boosting morale across their teams and improving work-life balance. It's the recipe that can take work from hell to hell yeah."

In working with their customers, who include the likes of Trek, Kellogg's, HBO and more, the experts at AtTask have found the confusion associated with projects and priorities are often the biggest reasons for work chaos. Data dispersed across whiteboards, ad hoc notes, instant messages and most notably, email, often result in mass disorganization and lead to prioritization issues, increased overtime and missed deadlines.

The visibility and communication stemming from a centralized enterprise work management tool that incorporates social collaboration, work process, and project management, can streamline processes and allow teams to stay focused on tasks and receive recognition for their accomplishments, ultimately decreasing work chaos and increasing productivity and morale in the workplace.

AtTask conducted the online survey by reaching out to more than 500 workers in varying industries across the country. Survey respondents varied in job type, management and/or leadership position and age. View the full survey report.

To learn more about the benefits of the AtTask Enterprise Work Management solution, visit www.attask.com.  

Additional Resources:

• View the Work is Hell infographic to see how to take your team from "Hell" to "Hell Yeah!"
• Read how your enterprise teams can escape work hell
• Learn how Enterprise Work Management can help your teams solve the chaos of work

About AtTask
AtTask is a cloud-based Enterprise Work Management solution that helps marketing, IT, and other enterprise teams conquer the chaos of excessive email, redundant status meetings, and disconnected tools. Unlike other tools, AtTask Enterprise Work Cloud is a centralized, easy-to-adopt solution for managing and collaborating on all types of work through the entire work lifecycle, which improves team productivity and executive visibility. AtTask is trusted by thousands of global enterprises, like Adobe, Cisco, HBO, Kellogg's, House of Blues, REI, Trek, Schneider Electric, Tommy Hilfiger, Disney, and ATB Financial.

Contact: Shelbi Gomez
[email protected]
801-477-9813

SOURCE AtTask