just imagine what the cost analysis would be for lost $'s due to interference usage throughout the world. it is likely substantial.
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from the national post
Workplace e-mails costing firms millions
New UWO survey
Odile Nelson
National Post
Wednesday, June 26, 2002
Workplace e-mail costs corporations millions of dollars every year in lost productivity, according to a study released yesterday by the University of Western Ontario.
Email in the Workplace: A Productivity Study surveyed the e-mailing habits and attitudes of Canadian and U.S. managers and employees.
It concluded that the current volume of irrelevant or trivial office e-mails has turned the communications tool into a time-consuming obligation for many employees.
The study found that the average employee now replies to 48 e-mails a day, compared with 36 in 2000; the percentage of respondents receiving 50 or more e-mails per day swelled from 19% last year to 37% this year and nearly 50% of this increase can be attributed to non-work related e-mails.
Only 17% of the respondents said they can answer all their emails on the same work day and most must spend an extra six hours a week managing their inboxes.
Christina Cavanagh, the author and a professor of management communications at the university's business school, said the study shows e-mail has not fulfilled its promise of improving productivity.
"I use a Marshall Mcluhan phrase he said in 1964, 'We shape the tools and they in turn shape us.' We use email for all its benefits but we abdicated our role in managing it as a productivity tool. We're getting wrapped up in this lock of 'I better manage my emails' but you know if 50% of e-mails offer nothing to the bottom line that's where the corporate costs come in."
The study, which surveyed 57 managers and employees, calculates that if the average employee makes $70,000 a year and the average firm has 100 staff, the extra six hours a week they spend on e-mail means at least a $1,000,000 a year loss in productivity.
But Professor Cavanagh says the growth in these low-value emails stems not from spam or junk mail but an increase in inter-office e-mail and employees over-use of the "reply to all" and "cc" functions. Employees tend to indiscriminately use e-mail to keep all their fellow staff members informed on any given subject - whether or not the information is relevant or necessary.
"The reply to all and endless stream of CC's is a big deal," said David Tait, a vice-president at the consulting firm of A.T. Kearney in Toronto. "What I don't like is when I see one reply to all message sent out over a certain issue and then everyone replies [using the function] so the issue doesn't disappear."
? Copyright 2002 National Post
-------------------------------------------------
from the national post
Workplace e-mails costing firms millions
New UWO survey
Odile Nelson
National Post
Wednesday, June 26, 2002
Workplace e-mail costs corporations millions of dollars every year in lost productivity, according to a study released yesterday by the University of Western Ontario.
Email in the Workplace: A Productivity Study surveyed the e-mailing habits and attitudes of Canadian and U.S. managers and employees.
It concluded that the current volume of irrelevant or trivial office e-mails has turned the communications tool into a time-consuming obligation for many employees.
The study found that the average employee now replies to 48 e-mails a day, compared with 36 in 2000; the percentage of respondents receiving 50 or more e-mails per day swelled from 19% last year to 37% this year and nearly 50% of this increase can be attributed to non-work related e-mails.
Only 17% of the respondents said they can answer all their emails on the same work day and most must spend an extra six hours a week managing their inboxes.
Christina Cavanagh, the author and a professor of management communications at the university's business school, said the study shows e-mail has not fulfilled its promise of improving productivity.
"I use a Marshall Mcluhan phrase he said in 1964, 'We shape the tools and they in turn shape us.' We use email for all its benefits but we abdicated our role in managing it as a productivity tool. We're getting wrapped up in this lock of 'I better manage my emails' but you know if 50% of e-mails offer nothing to the bottom line that's where the corporate costs come in."
The study, which surveyed 57 managers and employees, calculates that if the average employee makes $70,000 a year and the average firm has 100 staff, the extra six hours a week they spend on e-mail means at least a $1,000,000 a year loss in productivity.
But Professor Cavanagh says the growth in these low-value emails stems not from spam or junk mail but an increase in inter-office e-mail and employees over-use of the "reply to all" and "cc" functions. Employees tend to indiscriminately use e-mail to keep all their fellow staff members informed on any given subject - whether or not the information is relevant or necessary.
"The reply to all and endless stream of CC's is a big deal," said David Tait, a vice-president at the consulting firm of A.T. Kearney in Toronto. "What I don't like is when I see one reply to all message sent out over a certain issue and then everyone replies [using the function] so the issue doesn't disappear."
? Copyright 2002 National Post
