With many day-to-day tasks now carried out on screen it’s inevitable that the effectiveness of technology impacts on our work. A new study shows that American employees spend 4.5 hours a week searching for files, emails, or links they have already seen, totaling 29 work days per year.
The survey of over 1,000 US employees about their digital habits and workspace organization, carried out by Smallpdf, finds that disorganization and digital clutter costs workers time, energy, and confidence.
Windows users reported spending an hour more per week looking for files than Mac users, and finance professionals top all industries with 6.1 hours spent weekly hunting for files.
On average, employees have 8.5 browser tabs open while working, though 28 percent usually have 10 or more tabs open. Remote employees lead this digital multitasking trend with an average of 10.8 open tabs, and Mac users keep more tabs open than Windows users.
Hybrid workers struggle the most, spending 5.2 hours weekly searching through cluttered desktops and inboxes. Looked at by generation, Gen Z workers spent the most time per week on average searching for content (5.6 hours), while millennials spent the least (4.2 hours).
More than half of employees say they ‘check out’ at work due to excessive unread emails (54 percent) or excessive tabs (51 percent). 28 percent feel overwhelmed by their digital workspace every week, with seven percent feeling that way daily. Among Gen Z, that number doubles to 14 percent. This sense of overload is uncomfortable but also has real consequences: 12 percent have delayed submissions weekly due to digital disarray, and another 12 percent have felt unable to perform their jobs.
Inbox overload tops the list of frustrations, with one in three employees naming it the most hindering aspect of digital clutter. Gen X feels this pain most sharply (41 percent), while Gen Z cites poorly named or misplaced files as their top frustration (27 percent).
David Beníček, senior engineering manager at Smallpdf, writes on the company’s blog:
Digital clutter quietly erodes time and chips away at confidence, focus, and professional growth. While it’s tempting to ignore a crowded inbox or messy desktop, the data suggests that staying organized brings clear benefits to workers across industries, generations, and job types.
Setting aside just a few minutes each week to organize files, remove duplicates, and close unnecessary tabs can create lasting improvements in focus and efficiency. With easy-to-use tools that simplify file storage and sharing, Smallpdf helps professionals regain control of their digital space and turn order into a true productivity advantage.
You can read more on the Smallpdf site.
Image credit: focuspocusltd/depositphotos.com
