- UK workers are 11% more overwhelmed by notifications than the global average, Atlassian study finds
- Workers want flexibility to choose their schedules, including concentration time
- ‘Asynchronous’ working could be the answer (more below)
UK workers are more stressed and burned out than their global peers, according to new research from Atlassian: 70% say they experience work-related stress and almost half (49%) regularly feel burned out.
Atlassian found that one in five workers spends more than four hours a day responding to instant messages and one in 10 spends more than seven hours a week in meetings.
This has led to three in four (73%) feeling overwhelmed by continuous notifications and real-time communications, 11% above the global average.
UK workers are fed up with notifications
It’s not just during work hours that employees face difficulties: one in three say they don’t even have control over when they work, pointing to a lack of flexibility in a post-pandemic hybrid world. Around three-fifths (58%) still follow fixed daily schedules, and 34% fail to even achieve two hours of concentrated work per day.
Looking ahead, it’s not just companies that want more performance from workers: workers themselves want more time to think and create.
Atlassian praised asynchronous work for its ability to provide respite for workers: a type of work in which colleagues collaborate and complete tasks independently during their own hours, for example by leaving comments on documents.
Two-thirds (65%) of those using this more indirect method of working say it has already improved their mental health, and 32% noticed less pressure to respond to messages immediately.
This State of the Worker report serves as an important reminder for companies to consider implementing more flexible schedules, reducing reliance on real-time communication through asynchronous work practices, and promoting focus times.
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