Long gone are the days when email and phone were the only form of communication between employees. Today, there’s an app for everything – we have Teams and Zoom calls, Slack for instant messaging, Trello and Asana for organizing, a few cluttered Excel and Google Sheets, and countless apps that claim to increase productivity and collaboration.
More and more people are working remotely or hybrid. Apps can help keep in touch and get tasks done. But constantly switching between multiple applications can be so stressful for employees that there is even a name for it: app fatigue.
App fatigue is the feeling of being overwhelmed that people experience when they have too many applications to manage. It’s the feeling of being pulled in different directions at the same time.
For example, when your phone is beeping with messages from various Slack channels, you’re in one meeting after another, and you have to check three virtual “bulletin boards” to keep track of your projects, it’s not only exhausting, but research shows it’s also unproductive.
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A study conducted by researchers at three Fortune 500 companies found that employees spend a lot of time switching between different apps and websites, leading to a loss of focus and efficiency.
This is because humans aren’t really designed for multitasking. Even though we feel like we’re being productive, having to think about many apps at once splits our attention in a way that ultimately reduces performance.
“Switching between apps in the workplace can have a significant impact on employees, as our brains are not designed to handle constant shifts in concentration,” says Dr. Elena Touroni, consulting psychologist and co-founder of the Chelsea Psychology Clinic.
“Every time you switch from one app to another – for example, from email to Slack to Zoom – your brain needs time to adjust to the new task. This transition, known as ‘task switching,’ can disrupt your workflow and make it harder to stay focused and get things done. This is a major reason why multitasking often feels so exhausting. Our brains simply can’t handle multiple things at once as efficiently as we might like.”
Our brains take longer than we think to switch between different sources of information. On average, workers waste about four hours a week reorienting themselves after each app switch because we have to disconnect the previous app, open another one, absorb the new information and react accordingly.
Often we try to do this on multiple platforms at once. This requires a level of concentration that we simply don’t have, because we can only truly multitask when an activity requires a very low level of concentration, like walking and talking. So when we try to fully focus on multiple apps at once – and are constantly distracted by messages and emails – it can lead to information overload, stress and anxiety.
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“The constant need to shift attention can create a feeling of being overwhelmed as you try to keep up with the demands of each platform,” says Touroni. “This can make it difficult to maintain a clear focus, leading you to feel scattered and less productive. Over time, this can lead to feelings of burnout, especially if you’re expected to be constantly ‘online’ on multiple channels.”
Switching between apps can also lead to employees making mistakes. Introducing new software means employees have to learn how to use it effectively, which takes time. And when we send information through different channels, it can easily be missed or sent to the wrong person, especially when we’re feeling rushed and overwhelmed.
Psychologists suggest that a concept called “attentional residue” can affect the quality of our work when we constantly shift our attention between different apps. This is because we’re still thinking about a previous task while we start the next one – even when the first is completed – causing the quality of the second task to suffer.
The problem is that it’s tempting for employers to bombard their employees with more and more apps. Each app is sold as a solution to common workplace problems and to increase employee productivity, but that’s not necessarily the case. Instead, Touroni says, it’s better to limit communication to just one or two essential apps.
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“Using a single, integrated platform for most tasks can help minimize distractions and keep everyone on the same page,” she advises.
Before introducing a new app, employers should think about what problems they are trying to solve and whether the technology will actually solve them. If a virtual meeting platform is already in place, why change it? Using the latest apps may seem more competitive, but it is only beneficial if employees are comfortable using them.
It’s also important to set boundaries around responding to messages. “It’s also important for employers to set clear expectations around response times so employees don’t feel pressured to be instantly available on multiple apps at once,” adds Touroni.
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