Employees are being flooded with too much information that has little to do with their work, according to a new survey. On average, white-collar workers spend 51 percent of their work time receiving and processing information. Only one third of it was relevant to their work, the survey found. Information overload for white collar workers has become a global issue. The huge amount of information has already affected their efficiency in management as well as their performance at work. Buried with e-mails Every morning, a secretary at the human resources department of an auto parts company opens her e-mail box, only to find it crammed with at least 50 unread mails. For her, even scanning through these e-mails every day takes at least half an hour. Some of her colleagues are not so lucky -- they have to read at least 100. Bothered with calls Telephone calls are also causing a problem. More than 40 percent white-collar workers chose mobile phones as the preferred way to communicate important and urgent business matters. Talking saves time and energy over the clicking, reading and replying to e-mails, but phone calls are also more distracting . While answering a call, a clerk is likely to put away a much more important task at hand and start the business being talked about on the phone. Solution? Not yet. Many companies start with providing staff with better computers, better Internet access and more advanced gadgets . For example, staff members above a certain level in one company will be provided with a blackberry phone for easier access to their e-mails. The company has also organized many lectures on efficient ways of e-mail management. Yet most white-collar workers think their companies can do more. What does the new survey find about white-collar workers?
They spend 51% of their work time on meetings. Only half of the information they receive is useful. Over 60% of them prefer to use the telephone. Some of them have to read at least 100 e-mails every day.