Employees Wellbeing at Work: Improve with Intelligent Automation

Taking care of employees wellbeing at work is essential for a number of reasons. Firstly, employees who feel valued and supported by their employer are more likely to be engaged and productive. This can have a positive impact on the organization’s bottom line. Secondly, a positive workplace culture that prioritizes employees wellbeing can lead to increased employee retention. This will reduce the costs associated with turnover. Additionally, when employees are physically and mentally healthy, they are less likely to take sick leave or experience burnout. This can negatively impact productivity and morale. By investing in employees wellbeing, organizations can improve their reputation as an employer of choice. Thus, help attract and retain top talent. Finally, it is simply the right thing to do.

Intelligent automation has the potential to significantly improve employees wellbeing in the workplace. By automating manual and repetitive tasks, employees can free up time and reduce stress levels. This can ultimately lead to increased job satisfaction.

Current Challenges Faced by Employees at Work

According to a study conducted by Gallup, nearly 2/3 of full-time workers in the United States experience burnout on the job, with 23% reporting feeling burnt out very often or always. The study found that employees who frequently perform repetitive or monotonous tasks are at higher risk of experiencing burnout.

According to a recent study conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021, burnout affects around 1 in 3 workers globally. While burnout can be caused by a range of factors, including job insecurity and high workloads, repetitive manual tasks are a significant contributor. In fact, a study by the American Psychological Association found that repetitive tasks were the most commonly cited cause of burnout among workers, with 41% of respondents reporting this as a contributing factor. Additionally, a survey by Deloitte found that 90% of workers believed that automation could help reduce the burden of repetitive tasks and improve employees mental health and wellbeing.

Asana on “Anatomy of Work Index” stated that on a weekly basis, employees spend an average of four hours and 38 minutes duplicating efforts, which accounts for more than 10% of their total work time. This means that annually, over 200 hours are wasted on manual, low-value tasks that have already been completed by themselves or others.

These statistics highlight the importance of addressing the negative impact of repetitive manual tasks on employees wellbeing. As well as, the potential benefits of implementing automation solutions to alleviate this burden.

Read about how much time are you wasting on recurring tasks

Key Facets of Employee Wellbeing

Employees wellbeing encompasses several key facets that contribute to overall health and happiness in the workplace. These facets include:

Physical wellbeing: This includes aspects such as healthy eating, regular exercise, and sufficient rest, as well as a safe and comfortable working environment.
Mental and emotional wellbeing: This includes aspects such as managing stress levels, maintaining positive relationships with colleagues, and having access to mental health support when needed.
Career wellbeing: This includes aspects such as career development opportunities, job security, and feeling valued and supported in the workplace
Social wellbeing: This includes aspects such as feeling connected to others in the workplace, having a sense of community, and feeling that one’s work is meaningful and contributing to a larger purpose.
Financial wellbeing: This includes aspects such as fair compensation, access to benefits, and financial stability.
Spiritual wellbeing: This includes aspects such as feeling a sense of purpose and meaning in one’s work, having a sense of connection to a higher power, and feeling that one’s values are aligned with those of their employer.

Overall, prioritizing employees wellbeing across all these facets can lead to a more positive and fulfilling work environment, contributing to employee satisfaction, engagement, and productivity.

Where Do Employees Spend Their Time?

Employees spend their time at work in a variety of ways, depending on their job responsibilities and the specific tasks they need to accomplish. Most of them are administrative tasks, which includes tasks related to managing paperwork, filing, record-keeping, and other administrative duties. There is also “performing job-specific” tasks which includes tasks related to an employee’s job responsibilities, such as data entry, customer service, manufacturing, or software development.

According to a survey by McKinsey, employees spend an average of 61% of their time on work-related activities, such as meetings and emails.
A study by the Harvard Business Review found that managers spend an average of 85% of their time on activities related to communication, such as meetings, emails, and phone calls.
A survey by Udemy found that employees spend an average of 32% of their time on administrative tasks, such as data entry, filing, and record-keeping.
According to a study by Microsoft, employees spend an average of 2.5 hours per day on email-related tasks, such as responding to emails, managing inbox, and scheduling appointments.
A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management found that employees spend an average of 28% of their workweek on administrative tasks, such as paperwork and data entry. They also found that HR departments spend an average of 14 hours per week manually updating employee data, such as time and attendance records and benefits information.
Another survey by Asana found that employees spend an average of 60% of their workweek on work about work, such as responding to emails and attending meetings.

A report by the Workforce Institute found that 54% of employees waste time at work because they feel overwhelmed with tasks and responsibilities.

These statistics urge organizations to find solution that can help employees allocate their time more effectively and productive.

What Are the Barriers To Be Productive?

There are several barriers that can prevent employees from being productive at work, including:

Inefficient processes: Outdated or inefficient processes can slow down employees’ workflow and make it difficult for them to complete tasks efficiently, leading to frustration and lower productivity. When workflows and processes are not optimized, it can lead to delays, errors, and inefficiencies, which can impact productivity.
Overload of work: When employees are given too many tasks or unrealistic deadlines, they may feel overwhelmed.
Lack of motivation: Employees may feel demotivated if they do not have a clear understanding of how their work contributes to the overall goals of the organization.
Burnout and stress: High workloads, long working hours, and a lack of work-life balance can lead to burnout and stress, which can negatively impact employees’ mental and physical health, and reduce their productivity.

The Role of Intelligent Automation to Boost Employees Wellbeing

Intelligent automation has become increasingly urgent in boosting employees wellbeing at work due to the growing demand for higher productivity and the increasing complexity of work.

The Urgency for Intelligent Automation to Boost Employees Wellbeing

Here are some reasons why intelligent automation is becoming increasingly urgent:

Increasing workloads: Employees are facing increasing workloads due to the demand for higher productivity and the need to manage more complex tasks. This can lead to burnout and decreased wellbeing, which can impact productivity and morale.
Repetitive and low-value tasks: Repetitive and low-value tasks such as data entry and report generation can be tedious and time-consuming, leading to frustration and decreased engagement.
Inefficient processes: Inefficient processes can lead to delays, errors, and wasted time, which can negatively impact employee wellbeing and productivity.
High levels of manual work: Many employees are still performing repetitive and manual tasks that are time-consuming and error-prone. This can lead to frustration and disengagement, as well as a higher risk of errors and mistakes.
Technological advancements: The rapid advancement of intelligent automation technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotics, are making it increasingly urgent for organizations to adopt these solutions to remain competitive.
Need for upskilling and reskilling: As technology advances, employees require new skills and knowledge to remain relevant and competitive. Intelligent automation can provide opportunities for employees to learn new skills and develop their expertise. This enhances their value to the organization and promoting career growth.

Examples How Intelligent Automation Can Boost Employees Wellbeing

Here are some examples of manual tasks that intelligent automation can help employees:

Data entry

Intelligent automation can automate data entry tasks. This reduces the time and effort required for employees to manually enter data into spreadsheets or databases.

Invoice processing & Order processing

Automating invoice processing can reduce the time and effort required to manage invoices, including data entry, processing, and approvals.

Report generation

Intelligent automation can generate reports automatically. This helps eliminating the need for employees to manually create reports and freeing up their time for more meaningful work.

Employee onboarding

Automating the onboarding process for new employees can reduce the time and effort required for administrative tasks. They are collecting personal information, signing documents, setting up new accounts, and more.

Save to your reading list: The Future of Human Resources – How AI is Changing The Game with HR Automation

Customer support

Intelligent automation can automate customer support tasks such as responding to common questions and issues. This helps freeing up employees to focus on more complex customer requests.

Compliance reporting

Automating compliance reporting can reduce the time and effort required to ensure regulatory compliance, including data collection, analysis, and reporting.

Inventory management

Intelligent automation can automate inventory management tasks, such as tracking inventory levels, reordering products, and managing stockouts.

Financial analysis

Intelligent Automation can automate financial analysis tasks, such as reconciling accounts, forecasting cash flows, and analysing financial data. This frees up employees to focus on more strategic financial planning.

Email management

Intelligent Automation can help employees manage their emails by prioritizing and categorizing them and responding to common questions. It can help to automate routine tasks such as sending reminders or scheduling meetings.

Document processing

Intelligent Automation help employees processing documents by automating many of the manual and repetitive steps involved. These steps usually comprise of data entry, formatting, and approvals.

Document routing and approvals: Intelligent automation can automate the process of routing documents for review and approval, reducing the time and effort required to manage this process manually.
Data extraction: Intelligent automation can extract data from documents automatically, reducing the need for employees to manually enter data into spreadsheets or databases.
Document formatting: Intelligent automation can apply consistent formatting to documents automatically, reducing the time and effort required to format documents manually.
Document retrieval: Intelligent automation can automate the process of retrieving documents, reducing the time and effort required if done manually.
Document classification: Intelligent automation can classify documents automatically, reducing the time and effort required to categorize and organize documents manually.

Data analytics with AI

Some examples:

Automated Data Collection: Intelligent automation tools can automate the process of data collection, including data from multiple sources. Usually, they can be time-consuming and error-prone if done manually.
Data cleansing: Intelligent automation tools can help automate the process of data cleansing. This usually involves identifying and correcting errors, inconsistencies, and inaccuracies in data.
Data integration: Integrating data from multiple sources can be a complex and time-consuming process. Intelligent automation tools can help automate this process, ensuring that data is integrated quickly and accurately.
Predictive analysis with Machine Learning: Predictive modeling involves using data to make predictions about future trends and outcomes. Intelligent automation tools can help automate the process of developing predictive models. This allows employees to focus on interpreting the results and making strategic decisions.
Fraud Detection: Intelligent automation tools can identify suspicious patterns and anomalies in data. This helps employees detect and prevent fraud.
Natural language processing (NLP): NLP involves using machine learning algorithms to analyse and understand human language. NLP can help automate tasks such as sentiment analysis, which involves identifying and categorizing opinions expressed in text data.

Conclusion: Boosting Employee Wellbeing

Intelligent Automation can help boost employees wellbeing at work by reducing the time and effort required for manual repetitive tasks. Thus, freeing up employees to focus on more meaningful and creative work.

Moreover, Intelligent Automation can provide opportunities for upskilling and career growth. This allows employees to take on more challenging and rewarding roles. Intelligent Automation is becoming an essential tool for organizations to support their employees’ wellbeing and productivity at work.

Written by: Kezia Nadira