Information overload adds to daily stress for 88% Indians: Report

Mumbai: An overwhelming majority (88 percent) of Indians feel that information overload — driven by constant information flow 24×7, pervasive social media, or too many apps to check each day — continues to contribute to their daily stress, according to a report.

The report prepared by Canada-based information management solutions company OpenText is based on a survey of 27,000 global consumers, across India, the UK, the US, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Australia, Canada, Singapore, Brazil, and Japan.

It reveals the extent to which the effects of information overload are impacting Indians and how this has changed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Nearly two in five (39 percent) respondents said they have to use 11 or more accounts, resources, tools, and apps daily. This compares with just one in five (21 percent) who said this was the case two years ago, proving that the information people need to access resides within an increasing number of data repositories and applications.

In fact, due to the siloed nature of where information sits within organizations, three in five Indian employees (58 percent) said that they normally spend, on average, one or more hours per day searching on company networks or shared systems for specific work files or pieces of information just to do their job.

“For businesses and their employees, the proposition of trying to manage the volume and complexity of information — structured and unstructured data that is pervasive and growing exponentially — can be a daunting one. What we’ve come to realize is that information on its own is not the answer,” said Sandy Ono, Executive Vice President, and Chief Marketing Officer at OpenText.

Information scattered across multiple locations is another reason for the difficulties workers face, with close to a half (46 percent) reporting it’s hampering their ability to find the information they need to do their job.

In addition, 38 percent indicate it is having a detrimental effect on their performance at work, more than a third (36 percent) feel it is negatively impacting their overall job satisfaction and 43 percent say that it is having a direct impact on their work-life balance.

Further, hybrid workers in India feel that they face a broad range of other challenges with two in five (38 percent) saying that they cannot collaborate or share files with colleagues as easily when they are working from home, 41 percent indicating they cannot access corporate file systems and content as easily when working remotely, while 28 percent are struggling to carry on between the office and their home the technology and tools they need daily just to do their job.