The average attention span of today’s employee is 8 seconds. That’s it. 8 seconds.
It has dropped a grand whopping 4 seconds (12 to 8 seconds) in the last 15 years. I don’t know about you but I find that to be completely depressing. Just imagine how much it is going to drop in another decade. We may be looking at a 5 second or 3 second attention span given all the mobile devices today that demand our attention. Amazing.
I love my smartphone and wearable technology just as much as the next person but I see everyday how short attention spans are impacting my business and my personal life. In fact, my fellow Managing Partner had to send out this email recently to the team:
Subject: Phones and Computers in Meetings
Hey guys,
I wanted to address a growing issue that I’m seeing in both scheduled meetings as well as impromptu, business-related conversations.
I’m seeing a LOT of phone and computer usage during meetings. Now, I understand that computers may be used for meeting-related tasks such as note taking or information gathering, but I know that many times we’re also catching up on other tasks, answering e-mails and even checking on our social media accounts. This is becoming so prevalent that I think that many are not even aware that they’re doing it, especially with their phones. Sometimes even calls are being taken during meetings.
Nearly all of us are guilty of this in some capacity or another (I know I am!), so I’m mandating a no phone rule for meetings (if you have your phone with you, please silence it and turn it over on the table). Computers may be used but only for items that are directly related to the meeting or conversation.
I love technology (and multi-tasking!), but it’s starting to skew our standards of how to have a respectful and productive conversation with one another. Let’s get back to the basics on proper etiquette, and be present for all conversations moving forward.
Thanks,
Cara
I’m sure we are not the only business that struggles with this dynamic. The temptation to check that update or read that text is within grasp every second of the day. However, it doesn’t make it okay for business or life in general.
So, here are a few things I am rolling out at Ethos3:
Phones in the Basket
I love practicing this with friends at dinner so I am going to do the same with my business. All phones go in a basket before we meet. We don’t have a ton of meetings at Ethos3 so the ones that exist matter. I want and need everyone’s attention.
Night and Weekend Elimination
This is something we have worked on for awhile now. We make a diligent effort at protecting our team’s home and personal life. Our team shouldn’t feel the need to check their email at 9:07pm on a Tuesday night or 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. We do everything we can to remove that shackle from their lives.
Software Simplification
Most of my team (including myself) live and die in Chrome. We are a Google Apps based company so when not using traditional software like Adobe Creative Cloud, you’ll find us in programs like Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, and Google Keep. There are so many notifications going off at any given moment – email alerts, meeting reminders, documents that need to be edited – the list goes on and on. So, we are beginning to explore programs like Slack that will help reduce all the emotional and digital clutter.
Ultimately, we want each team member to make the best decision for themselves and their families when managing digital distractions in their lives. After all, we are a business and not their parent. However, whenever they are under the Ethos3 umbrella, I am always going to encourage the best habits and that includes doing whatever I can to minimize the attack on our attention spans.
