NEW YORK – Information overload now costs the U.S. economy $900 billion a year in reduced employee productivity and innovation, according to a new study by the research firm Basex.
“Information overload describes an excess of information that results in the loss of ability to make decisions, process information and prioritize tasks,” the company said in a news release. “It has been identified as a key challenge for companies that operate in the knowledge economy.”
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A survey by Basex of more than 3,000 workers found that they spend up to half of their workdays managing and searching for information. The chip manufacturer Intel, which has 86,000 employees, estimates that employees lose up to eight hours each week to information overload.
Earlier this year, Intel and other major tech firms, including Microsoft and Google, formed a nonprofit group called the Information Overload Research Group to study ways of tackling the problem.
Basex has created an online calculator to give companies a rough estimate of how much information overloading is costing them.
Jonathan B. Spira, chief analyst at Basex, said companies need to take “active countermeasures” to reduce the amount of information burying employees. “In order to remain competitive in 2009, companies will need to begin an information overload bailout,” he said.
David M. Goldes, president and senior analyst at Basex, added: “Nothing has been more disruptive to the way we work than information overload.”
Additional information, including the information-overload business-cost calculator, is available from research firm Basex Inc. at www.basex.com or www.MarketResearch.com.
