What is Information Overload?
In terms of the individual, information overload is the state of feeling overwhelmed by an indigestible amount of information, often from multiple sources, such that one cannot completely or adequately process the data. Information overload is often associated with feelings of stress and anxiety and particularly inhibits decision making based on the amount information that is not able to be processed.
What is the Information Overload Age?
The Information Overload Age is our current age, our present time characterized by a spike in technology, increased communication, and globalization. The Information Age is one of unprecedented growth and prosperity, and presents a sharp contrast to the work processes of the previous industrial age. New tools and systems to manage information are just now being tested while new emphasis is being placed on human capital, over financial capital, as the key source of success.
How does information overload effect individuals?
Information overload takes a toll on individuals both in and out of the workplace. Signs of information overload include high levels of tension and stress, broken relationships, lack of ability to sleep, irritability, lack of ability to make decisions, missed commitments, depression, loss of creativity, and poor communication.
In the workplace these characteristics are manifest in careless errors, high levels of turnover, poorly executed meetings, high absenteeism, low employee job satisfaction, failed projects, missed deadlines, and a lack of relevance between annual goals and actual daily performance.
What is Attention Deficit Trait, and what does it have to do with Information Overload?
In the late 1990s, Dr. Edward M. Hallowell, MD and psychiatrist, coined the term ADT, Attention Deficit Trait, and applies it to those individuals who display legitimate symptoms similar to those of ADD (inability to focus, irritability, careless errors, depression, etc.), Attention Deficit Disorder, but who, upon examination, did not have the disorder.
He explained ADT as the brain's natural response to an inability to process an overwhelming amount of data. The resulting manifest symptoms of ADT are actually the brain's way of coping with its immediate environment, one that is new and full of more data than the brain has ever had to process before.
The diagnosis of ADT is useful in terms of information overload because it is a recognition of the problem. Once the problem is identified, the solution can be found and implemented. In the case of information overload, the solution is managing all of the information one is expected to process.
How does information overload affect company earnings?
Information overload can have a devastating effect on company earnings, and the danger is even more detrimental if it goes unrecognized. A company comprised of overloaded individuals is going to experience high turnover, low job satisfaction, missed financial forecasts, unproductive meetings, high error rates in work products, operation at a frantic pace, and high levels of rework.
Aside from these somewhat intangible yet obviously directly related causes of lost earnings, a concrete way to view the issue can be exemplified with some statistics. A recent study published in Harvard Business Review found that the average worker today spends 40% of the work day merely processing information. This translates into only 60% of the average work day being spent on true value creation activities. 40% of the payroll costs are spent handling the overload. The more time spent on processing information and not creating value, the less a company earns.
Prevalence
Our assessments in this area have found that in any given group of employees, and across many industries, non-profit organizations, and government agencies, 75% of the population is currently experiencing burnout and overload. A sobering statistic from the 2006 HBR article, “Extreme Jobs”, reveals that 36% of workers aged 25-34 say they will likely leave their jobs within a year, and 30% of workers aged 35-44 echo the sentiment.