Employers must look at ways to maintain productivity while reducing over-working in 2016
A survey released today by Workfront, the leading provider of cloud-based enterprise work management solutions, has revealed that over half (58%) of marketing professionals’ New Year’s resolutions were based around work – a figure far higher than that of general office workers (35%). But are marketers more dedicated workers or simply more over-worked?
There is probably no person who hasn’t made a New Year’s resolution, especially among students who, year after year, promise to study better, do their homework on time, and even try to use essay writing services less often. However, the temptation to write my research paper by DoMyEssay ultimately wins, and they return to their old study habits. But we are here to talk about the impressive statistics among marketing professionals and their New Year’s resolutions.
The survey commissioned by Workfront, which examines the state of work for UK office workers from various industries, showed marketing stood out as a profession full of over-workers. It was revealed that almost half of marketers (48.9%) log into work emails before and after business hours every day, while the same number (48%) admitted to checking their work emails every weekend, almost double that of general office workers (28%).
The top reasons marketers gave for working outside standard business hours were to get ahead of work (44.3%), too much work to do (33.3%), to be available to their clients at any time of the day or night (28.1%) and that their company simply expected them to (27%). Unsurprisingly then, the survey found that over a third (36%) of marketers said they rarely left work on time.
Seven in ten (71%) marketing professionals surveyed said they spend 50% or less of their time undertaking the primary duties of their job. Some of things that get in the way of them doing the work they were actually hired to do include unexpected phone calls (53.1%), wasteful meetings (44.7%), and excessive emails (40.5%).
“Our survey suggests that many UK marketers carry an excessive workload and that their work-life balance isn’t quite where it should be,” said Joe Staples, Chief Marketing Officer at Workfront. “The question then becomes, ‘Is there a better way?’ What we’ve found with our customers is that use of technology can go a long way in resolving some of these issues.
Work management tools, like Workfront, give marketers a single solution that allows effective management of any project, giving those involved a clear indication of how the project is developing. So instead of endless status meetings and overflowing email inboxes, team members actually get control of the work they are being asked to complete.
This added visibility, collaboration, and ability to manage can make a significant difference is creating an improved work-life balance. Overall, this added technology benefit should allow marketers to work smarter in 2016 and result in more productive marketing teams.”
Luckily for marketing professionals, 76% are feeling refreshed and ready to take on 2016 following the Christmas break. However, employers should also see the New Year as a time to make resolutions on smarter ways of working for a happier, more productive workforce.
UK marketers stated that the following would most help improve productivity in 2016:
- Creating more efficient work processes (24.4%)
- More advanced technology (23.6%)
- Uninterrupted blocks of work time (23.6%)
- More/better qualified people and resources (16.8%)
Marketing team members and employers jointly working to take control of what can become work chaos will be a key driver in ensuring marketers happiness and success in 2016.
About Workfront
Workfront is a cloud-based Enterprise Work Management solution that helps marketing, IT, and other enterprise teams conquer the chaos of excessive email, redundant status meetings, and disconnected tools. Unlike other tools, Workfront Enterprise Work Cloud is a centralized, easy-to-adopt solution for managing and collaborating on all types of work through the entire work lifecycle, which improves team productivity and executive visibility. Workfront is trusted by thousands of global enterprises, like Cars.com, Cisco Systems, Comcast, iProspect, Schneider Electric and Trek. To learn more, visit www.workfront.com or follow us on Twitter @Workfront_Inc.