While nearly all (96%) global professionals consider themselves to be good listeners, the vast majority (98%) spend part of their workday multitasking, a new research?from Accenture said.
In fact, almost two-thirds (64%) say that listening has become significantly more difficult in today?s digital workplace.
While 66% of respondents agree that multitasking enables them to accomplish more at work, more than a third (36%) say the many distractions prevent them from doing their best, resulting in a loss of focus, lower-quality work, and diminished team relationships.
When asked what interrupts their workday the most, respondents cited telephone calls and unscheduled meetings/visitors more than twice as often as they cited instant messaging and texting (79% and 72%, respectively, versus 30% and 28%, respectively).
The research, #ListenLearnLead, which surveyed 3,600 professionals from 30 countries including the Philippines, found that eight in 10 respondents say they multitask on conference calls with work emails, instant messaging, personal emails, social media and reading news and entertainment (cited by 66%, 35%, 34%, 22 %, and 21%, respectively).
Those who listen actively on calls typically either need something from the call or are required to lead, participate in or follow up on the discussion.
Furthermore, almost eight out of 10 Filipino respondents spend half their day multitasking, higher than the global average of 56 %. While four in 10 Filipinos spend more than 75 % of their day multitasking.
?Digital is changing everything, and new technologies will continue to present challenges and opportunities,? said Monina Cacayan, managing director of Accenture operations and inclusion and diversity sponsor in the Philippines.
?As employees become increasingly hyper-connected, leading organizations will seize the opportunity to optimize the use of technology in the workplace, tapping its potential for employee engagement, collaboration and innovation.?
The research also found that the majority of respondents (58 %) believe technology enables leaders to communicate with their teams easily and quickly, and almost half cite additional benefits, such as flexibility for teams to work anywhere/anytime (47 %) and increased accessibility (46 %).
Accessibility, however, is seen as both a help and a hindrance to effective leadership. More than six in 10 women and more than five in 10 men view technology as ?overextending? leaders by making them too accessible. Almost 7 out of 10 Filipinos who participated in the Accenture survey attest to this.
Meanwhile, all respondents agree that among the top challenges facing leaders today are information overload (55 %) and rapidly evolving technology (52 %).
Additionally, more than 7 in 10 respondents (71 %) believe the number of women chief technology officers will grow by 2030.
In the Philippines, a significantly higher number of respondents (85%) agree that more doors will open for women CTOs in the next 15 years. More than half of respondents (52%) say that their companies are likewise preparing more women for senior management this year than they did last year.
