Asana’s latest workplace survey has highlighted the issues plaguing the world of work, leading to stifled productivity, increased burnout and decreased trust.
Post-pandemic, employers, employees and organisations have, for the most part rallied and adopted a ‘business as usual’, attitude towards working life, but despite this, COVID-19 has left an indelible mark on the workplace. From remote and flexible working to better connected staff members and greater company culture, the pandemic has, in some ways, changed working life for the better.
The consequences of the virus, in terms of working arrangements, led to many experiencing a level of professional autonomy that greatly improved their productivity and overall job satisfaction. The lack of a commute and the ability to care for dependents while at home, was also a silver-lining to be taken from a difficult situation.
Not to mention, it has proven beyond reasonable doubt that provisions can and should be made to better include people with disabilities, visible and invisible, in working life. There have been many positive side-effects to a truly disruptive, frightening and unforgettable global event, but, despite having put some distance between then and now, the pandemic also continues to negatively impact the working world.
San Francisco-based software company Asana has today (22 October) released the State of Work Innovation Report 2024, highlighting the four main challenges affecting organisations and the working population, post-pandemic. To gather their data Asana surveyed 13,066 knowledge workers across six countries in 2024, namely Australia, Japan, the US, the UK, Germany and France.
Who is doing what?
Asana’s research indicated that capacity and a clear understanding of responsibilities is in short supply for many organisations post-pandemic. 59pc of responding hybrid employees noted that, as remote working becomes more normalised, organisations are losing sight of work ownership, leading to major workload imbalance.
In fact, Almost 70pc of respondents feel that their managers truly have little understanding of the extent of their workload.
Performative working is also a rising issue according to the report, as 65pc of respondents admitted to engaging in productivity theatre, that is, pretending to work when you are not, for the benefit of supervisors and management. More than half (53pc) of those surveyed also agreed that their teams are incredibly dependent on high-performers to meet target goals.
Research suggests that employees post-pandemic are drained, mentally and physically, by too many unnecessary, excessive productivity tools and a heavy workload, which the survey warns has the potential to lead to significant burnout.
Fear of change
The pandemic was undeniably disruptive, forcing many people to adapt and change to fit a transformed working world. Amid economic pressures and technological advancements organisations have had to reshape themselves to stay not just competitive, but afloat.
As indicated by the survey, the issue of low resilience and a fear of change has resulted in some employees losing trust in the organisations they work for and becoming resistant to further alteration. Only 27pc of responding employees are of the opinion that their organisations can weather future challenges and less than a quarter (24pc) said that their company updates strategic goals based on changing priorities.
Are we actually connecting?
The third major challenge to working life post-pandemic, as explained by the survey, is the issue of whether or not we are actually tuned in to our places of employment, or if the multiple forms of workplace communication are actually deepening the divide.
According to the survey, co-workers “are more disconnected than ever, with teams falling into silos, leading to duplicated efforts, wasted resources, and costly inefficiencies. Teams are left spinning their wheels rather than driving real progress.”
Certainly only 21pc of responding knowledge workers believe that people within their organisations can work effectively across teams and less than one-fifth are of the opinion that their communication tools support cross-functional collaboration. Interestingly, but perhaps not surprising given the results of the report, less than half (47pc) of those surveyed stated that they understand how their work clearly fits in with their organisations long-term objectives.
Breakneck or bottleneck speeds?
Lastly, Asana’s survey identified low velocity as a serious issue within the workplace, post-pandemic. In a changing world, the companies better able to adapt and to do so quickly, are the ones most likely to succeed, therefore bottlenecks can be a significant challenge for modern organisations.
A reliance on outdated technologies and poor workflow can greatly impede the workplace, with 94pc of respondents stating that they still depend on spreadsheets to help manage their work and 64pc agreeing that their company’s collaboration tools are actually making the job harder to do.
AI as always seems to be a contentious subject, with nearly half (47pc) of all responding employees concerned about the use of unreliable data and 26pc saying that their organisation does not provide sufficient AI training. 32pc even admitted to using unauthorised “shadow AI” tools, putting organisations at risk of cybersecurity threats.
Of the report Dr Rebecca Hinds, the head of Asana’s Work Innovation Lab stated, “this report is a wake-up call for leaders. The last five years have completely reshaped how we work, but too many teams are still stuck in outdated practices that drain productivity. Holding onto these old habits has come at a high cost—leaving teams disconnected and overwhelmed”.
She went on to say that a commitment to change and working outside of traditional methods, for example relying on meetings to solve every problem and letting teams adopt technology in silos, will be key to future success.
Additionally, she believes “AI has the capability to help, but too many organisations are only using AI to boost individual productivity.
“By applying AI across the organisation, it gains critical context of the work that is happening – giving organisations the clarity of who is doing what by when. Only then will businesses create connections, move faster, build resilience and balance workloads.”
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