Being a helper at the office-especially today, when “the office” is virtual for many-comes at the cost of our personal productivity and creativity. It’s crucial that organizations empower their employees to protect their time-and their sanity-so their instinct to be helpful doesn’t cause more harm than good.

Collaborative work consumes most of our week

Email and other internal collaboration activities account for 42% of the average knowledge worker’s time, leaving less time for deeper, more focused solo work.

  • As we spend more time on collaborative work, the tasks that require focused concentration take longer to complete, which increases our burnout risk.

A mostly self-inflicted problem

Studies show that 20% to 35% of value-added collaboration comes from just 3% to 5% of employees

  • Unfortunately, much of this teamwork happens under the radar, so it goes unnoticed and unrecognized by management
  • In hybrid and remote settings, where one-to-one meetings take place online and therefore aren’t visible to higher-ups

Preventing collaboration overload and burnout

Time blocking

  • Block off time on your calendar for focused work
  • Agenda setting
  • Standing meetings
  • Boundaries
  • If you don’t feel comfortable doing these things or saying “no” to collaborative activities-that indicates a problem that needs to be addressed at a higher level

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