Digitization can be helpful in many aspects to increase our productivity and to win us more time for other useful things. But be cautioned, as it can also bring us more work if one doesn‘t keep one‘s eye open.

Digitization has arrived even in the remotest corners of our lives which it influences and determines significantly. Meanwhile, the first generation is alive that grew up with smartphones. You may have already seen a clueless child in front of a landline button-telephone. Digitization of our (work) lives is curse and blessing at the same time. Or shall we say blessing and curse? It can relief us in so many things. On the other hand, it brings along time-consuming pitfalls as well. Who hasn‘t been caught-up in sheer endless timelines between meaningful news and cat pictures?

On the one hand, the root of the problem lies in the reproduction and redundancy of digital communication. On the other hand in the unique elegance of its ability to delegate work. This often happens very subtle and unconsciously. Services are being delegated to us to increase productivity of the service provider. By means of unpaid work! Everyone who has ever »configured« a vehicle on the web or booked a flight online including countless payable options and »self check-in« has become a victim of »transmitted work«[1].

In this way we contribute to the fact that work accomplished by ourselves does not need to be done elsewhere gets lost as gainful employment in its traditional meaning. We can determine that the decision-making process gets longer and leads to serious errors – example: Berlin airport. We chronically have screens in front of our faces and dive deep down into an illusory world with a sheer inexhaustible source of meaningful (but, unfortunately, also meaningless) information. This goes to an extent that people in their illusory world stand before our feet and it leads to such remarkable excesses like traffic-lights built into our walk-ways so that these smartphone junkies to not run into the next truck in their digital blindness[2].

But back to subject… The digitization coin as well has two sides. One of them is a good one.

Digitization is able to disburden and to support if utilized for meaningful work. We simply have to concentrate on the digitization-relieves that make sense to be more productive with less working time. Thus, we can concentrate on our real competencies that probably won‘t be taken over by algorithms soon: being human. Actions and emotions (nearly all of our decisions are based on emotions – see our blog article »Buyer journey« – how the brain decides) where creativity and common sense are required won‘t be replaced by machines quickly. But we need more time to use them properly. We can gain that time if we ensure not being »enslaved« by digitization.

Adobe Stock | Costello77

Less work can mean more productivity. And vice-versa. There is quite a number of examples that verify this thesis. Whole countries and single companies (admittedly more of those that can afford it) experiment with various working hours models. Microsoft in Japan, for example, has started an experiment in August 2019 with its 2,300 employees to limited working time. They went that far to grant their workers paid leave every Friday. The result was astonishing and promising: productivity increased by 40 percent over the same month in the previous year (measured in turnover per employee).

Eko Data Intelligence relieves sustainably

Productivity and working time have interdependency. Quality seems to play an important role. The more focused and efficient and the better the quality, the more productivity increases. We are advised to utilize focused and qualitative digital sources of joy to achieve this positive effect. Eko Data Intelligence (EDI) is an excellent example for such a productivity-bringer.

EDI is a services that identifies potential new customers and provides valuable information to secure your leading advance in marketing and sales.

EDI Sample Report

EDI relieves your teams by compiling and selecting relevant information of potential new customers. We select and sort those quality leads beforehand so that you literally only have to pick up the phone and dial the number we provide to you. This saves you from lengthy research and »empty« phone called or e-mails.

Learn how EDI can bring your more productivity and gain valuable time for you on our website or schedule a personal consultation call.

[1] This is actually not an invention of the digital economy. This idea has been around for much longer. IKEA-founder Ingvar Kamprad had a great inspirations letting his customers handle assembly and transport of the purchased and paid-for furniture by themselves and even suggest that it would be fun.

[2] In 2014 in Austria alone, 110 fatal accidents were registered where distraction from phones played a causal role. An increase of 27 percent over the previous year! Source: ORF.at (German)