Every year workplace technology provider WorkFront produce an assessment of the workplace as they see it, and they recently published their 2019 edition.  The survey, which resulted from quizzing a few thousand white collar workers, aims to explore the state of enterprise work.

Several core findings emerged from the data.  For instance, we’re not especially enamored with our colleagues, as the survey found that if we were to rate them in the same way we do an Uber driver, the average would be a fairly meagre 3.7 out of 5. It also found that email and other forms of communication are largely wasteful and cripple our productivity rather than support it. Whether it’s in reducing ineffective communication or not is unclear, but the majority of respondents also thought that automation will help them spend more time on work that really matters.

Struggling to innovate

Perhaps most interesting however was the data in relation to innovation. Most respondents said that they were expected to innovate by their employer, but few had anywhere near enough time to actually do so. The majority of respondents said that they were so swamped with business as usual, that it was a struggle to look beyond the day-to-day.

The challenge is illustrated by similar findings emerging in last year’s survey, with respondents then also revealing a desire to innovate and work differently, but next to no time to do so.  Indeed, similar findings have emerged from a number of reports over the past few years.

Such challenges have in the past been resolved by allocating 20% time to employees to work on projects outside of their day job, but Google have wound up their scheme and such freedom is nowhere near as prevalent now as it once was.

Perhaps this is largely because the perception of companies valuing innovation is largely illusory.  A recent Harvard study asked executives to highlight their key priorities, and just 30% put innovation in their top 3, with innovation and technology respectively just 5th and 7th most pressing priority for executives today.

This trend continued when the researchers quizzed board members on what kind of things they thought they were good at. Technology and innovation came in a lowly 17th and 18th, with just 42% regarding themselves as above average. It’s a figure that pales in comparison to their self-assessed competence in areas such as compliance and financial planning.

So if boards are largely staffed with executives skilled in business as usual, it’s perhaps no surprise that they prioritize business as usual, and implement policies that encourage business as usual.  It’s a trend that WorkFront have revealed across a number of years, and I would be very surprised if next year’s report reveals anything different.