From “Zoom fatigue” to “pandemic whiplash,” the last months have introduced a wave of new terms into our regular conversation. One of these new concepts is “collaborative overload.” Keep reading to learn what it is and how to avoid it.
What Is Collaboration Overload?
Simply stated, collaboration overload occurs when an employee spends more time collaborating than actually working.
With its abundance of video calls, emails, and phone calls, the pandemic has created optimal conditions for collaboration overload. Employees everywhere find themselves spending more time responding to requests, communicating, and then double-checking those communications than focused on the tasks they’re supposed to do.
While the term “collaboration (or collaborative) overload” began gaining traction around 2016, but today it feels more relevant than ever thanks to the changes ushered in by the COVID-19 pandemic.
How to Avoid Collaboration Overload?
Collaboration overload hampers productivity and increases your employees’ stress levels, leading to burnout and a poor work-life balance.
And you still think that there’s no such a thing as too much collaboration, keep this in mind: according to the authors who coined the term “collaborative overload,” the proportion of collaborative work is about 80%. Think about all the things your team could accomplish if you could whittle down that percentage to a more reasonable figure.
Here are some steps you can take to avoid collaboration overload in your organization:
- Set well-defined goals for your team
- Use only a limited number of collaboration tools
- Take the time to analyze the communication habits in your organization
- Seek feedback from your employees
- Identify and break “communication bottlenecks”
More Tips and Ideas
At the ONE Inland Empire Chamber of Commerce, we are always looking for ideas that help foster the growth of your business. Here are some previous posts to help you do just that:
- How to use social media to advance your career
- Cybersecurity basics for small businesses
- 3 Simple ways to protect yourself against identity theft
- Common grammar mistakes to avoid in your business emails
Interested in learning more about the ONE Inland Empire Chamber of Commerce? Contact us today by email (info@oneinlandempire.com), telephone (951-280-3902), or social media. We look forward to hearing from you!
