{"id":40195,"date":"2021-06-10T04:19:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T08:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?post_type=emagazine&p=40195"},"modified":"2023-07-17T05:01:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T09:01:47","slug":"collaboration-tool-intrusion-focus","status":"publish","type":"emagazine","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/collaboration-tool-intrusion-focus\/40195\/","title":{"rendered":"Collaborative tools need your control to prevent employee overload"},"content":{"rendered":"

In centuries past, scholars at England\u2019s older universities had a foolproof system to make sure they could work in peace. Offices had two sets of doors. If only the inner door was closed, visitors were welcome to knock, but shutting the outer oak door (known as sporting the oak<\/a>) meant do not disturb<\/em> \u2013 and everyone, no matter how senior, was expected to observe.<\/p>\n

In 2021 many remote workers would welcome the digital equivalent of that sturdy oak door. Conferencing and workflow platforms like Slack, Zoom and Teams have revolutionized remote working \u2013 without these, the COVID-19 pandemic may have seen knowledge-based businesses struggle. But now, some employees find themselves on a carousel of virtual meetings, instant messages and urgent emails with little time for unbroken concentration.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s called \u2018collaborative overload,\u2019 \u2018tyranny of the inbox\u2019 or \u2018the collaboration curse.\u2019 Among its most influential commentators is bestselling business author and Georgetown University Professor Cal Newport<\/a>. He popularized the term \u2018deep work:\u2019 Giving a single task undivided attention for an extended time.<\/p>\n

The power of deep attention<\/h2>\n

In Professor Newport\u2019s words, \u201cDeep work makes you better at what you do and provides the sense of true fulfillment<\/a> that comes from craft, yet most spend their days in a frantic blur of email and social media.\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Secure Your Own Future research<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Future of work report<\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/header>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Kaspersky asked 8,000 employees in 18 countries how they see the future of work since the pandemic.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\tRead report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n

Emma Birchall is co-managing director of HSM<\/a>, a future of work research consultancy. She told us, \u201cWe all thought the move to remote working would give us time to reflect, and that not sitting next to colleagues would give us space for deep work. But we\u2019ve found most diaries are back-to-back with online meetings and notifications go off all day.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an issue unlikely to go away as the pandemic recedes. Research commissioned by Kaspersky suggests some remote working will be a permanent fact of life for many, and \u201chybrid working\u201d will become the new normal<\/a>. Most (74 percent) don\u2019t want to return to some pre-COVID work practices, with 37 percent hoping for a flexible mix of working at home and in the office.<\/p>\n

What collaboration is meant to be like<\/h2>\n

To get a handle on the problem, it\u2019s useful to identify what collaboration is meant to achieve. Alison Coward founded Bracket<\/a>, an agency that helps teams work together more effectively. She champions \u2018purposeful collaboration:\u2019 Bringing diverse minds and skillsets together to solve complex challenges, but with each person\u2019s contribution developed through deep work.<\/p>\n

The most productive teams have periods of individual work alternating with collaborative sessions. Just being on Slack or Zoom doesn\u2019t equal collaboration but can give the illusion of it. It\u2019s a misconception that the tools can solve communication problems.<\/p>\n

The most productive teams have periods of individual work alternating with collaborative sessions. Just being on Slack or Zoom doesn\u2019t equal collaboration but can give the illusion of it. It\u2019s a misconception that the tools can solve communication problems.<\/p>\n

Alison Coward, Founder, Bracket<\/p><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n

One task at a time<\/h2>\n

Sophie Leroy<\/a>, Associate Professor of Management at University of Washington studies how technology can foster unhelpful work habits. Central to her work is \u2018attention residue<\/a>:\u2019 When you break off a task to see to something else, your thought process can\u2019t disengage immediately from the old task. It means employees constantly hijacked by online interactions will always work at reduced effectiveness.<\/p>\n

She told Secure Futures<\/em>, \u201cI study different types of interruptions. There are intrusions, like people requesting my attention and making me switch tasks even though I may not want to. Then there are distractions \u2013 things more in the background. An email may pop up, for example, and you wonder what\u2019s in it. It starts bothering you.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the pandemic changed how we work, I\u2019ve seen a huge increase in intrusions and distractions, and \u2013 perhaps worst of all \u2013 in multitasking. You may be in a meeting with many other windows open on your screen and be tempted to check emails and search chats. These things would\u2019ve been rude in face-to-face meetings, but now no one knows you\u2019re doing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause communication is so much more informal using online platforms, you get into the habit of doing this all the time. It\u2019s a problem because multitasking harms productivity<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just a matter of workers being interrupted, but also interrupting others. Leroy says, \u201cLet\u2019s assume you\u2019re working on something and you have a question. Your chat window is open, so it\u2019s easy to pipe up with, \u2018do you have any information on this?\u2019 The technology tempts you to do that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an office, you might\u2019ve written down the question for later when you see your colleague, but you don\u2019t get that chance for informal contact when working remotely. And these little interruptions help you feel connected to colleagues, which may motivate more interruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking control of collaboration tech<\/h2>\n

One way to overcome intrusion from collaboration tools and give employees more chance to work deeply is to set ground rules across the organization, says Harriet Molyneaux, co-managing director at HSM. \u201cHave a communications charter that sets expectations about when people will be online and whether they\u2019re supposed to be checking various channels.\u201d<\/p>\n

A company communications charter may limit the number of channels, say which digital platforms are appropriate for which kinds of collaboration or recommend \u2018asynchronous\u2019 methods (that can be answered later, like email) be used in place of synchronous ones, like an instant message. It should also include policies for urgent communications.<\/p>\n

Molyneaux says, \u201cIn our organization, outside normal working hours, we\u2019re not expected to be on instant messaging channels or answer email. Any messages there are picked up the next day. If you need someone urgently, you must use WhatsApp or call them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can all be smart in our use of tools. Most platforms let you set your status. If you\u2019re out for an hour or taking some time for deep thinking, make it \u2018please only contact me if urgent and do so by phone.\u2019 It\u2019s about getting team members to take control of tech rather than just thinking, \u2018we can contact everyone all day, every day.'\u201d<\/p>\n

Organizations should advise employees on managing notification settings, so alerts and pop-ups don\u2019t dice up concentration periods. Recent releases of Windows, for example, have \u2018Focus assist\u2019 \u2013 a tool to filter out lower priority notifications.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sticking to the rules<\/h2>\n

For a communications protocol to work, everyone must follow it. If some managers start arranging interactions outside the agreed framework, a digital presenteeism<\/a> culture \u2013 employees feeling pressure to be always available online \u2013 can creep back.<\/p>\n

Sophie Leroy says, \u201cYou may say we\u2019re going to limit online meetings to 10 to 11 am and 1 to 2 pm each day, and the rest of the time is for focused work. But people may still think, am I going to be monitored and punished if I\u2019m not visible? Will I be considered non-productive? Will I miss out on information if others are online? The organization must be clear about all this.\u201d<\/p>\n

It can be difficult to wean people off the habit of always checking messages on different channels. Leroy suggests a gradual approach. \u201cYou have to retrain your focus. Start with not checking for 10 minutes, then 15, up to an hour. It\u2019s hard, but people realize it\u2019s good for them and want to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technology can help. Time-management methods like the Pomodoro Technique<\/a> rely on breaking the working day into short, indivisible intervals, each for a single task. There are apps and browser plug-ins to help with this. \u201cThey\u2019re useful, but it must be individual choice,\u201d says Alison Coward. \u201cManagers shouldn\u2019t mandate them. Everyone is different. It\u2019s about giving people time and space to find their own productivity techniques.\u201d<\/p>\n

Employees need the chance to give their work deep focus, free from interruptions and distractions that unbridled digital collaboration tools can bring. As these tools are suddenly everywhere thanks to the COVID-19 work-from-home shift, leaders must ensure their organization has policies to support deep work and prevent unnecessary intrusion. Most importantly, everyone must follow the protocols, from the newest intern to the C-suite. When we face high-tech problems, we should step back and remember we\u2019ll always need low-tech human values, like establishing and sticking to boundaries based on mutual respect and understanding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We need deep work to be productive and creative, but digital collaboration tools distract us. Some businesses see it\u2019s time to regain control.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2583,"featured_media":40196,"template":"","coauthors":[3833],"class_list":{"0":"post-40195","1":"emagazine","2":"type-emagazine","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"emagazine-category-leadership","7":"emagazine-category-remote-working","8":"emagazine-category-tech-for-business","9":"emagazine-tag-collaboration","10":"emagazine-tag-flexible-working","11":"emagazine-tag-productivity","12":"emagazine-tag-remote-working"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/collaboration-tool-intrusion-focus\/40195\/"}],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine\/40195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/emagazine"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=40195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}