Tired woman working on laptop at home during night time
Image: rh2010/Adobe Stock

Keeping productivity high is still a major challenge even though the move to primarily work-from- home models is becoming more prevalent. Luckily for both businesses and their workforce, a new survey of 1,000 employees by OSlash found that employees have a common thread: the apps they use. OSlash found that remote workers with the highest level of productivity averaged over $27,000 more in earnings than the least productive home workers.

Could apps be the key to maintaining or increasing productivity?

According to the survey, higher productivity employees are more trusted by their employers, have more freedom at work, and make more money. The six most used apps by the most engaged employees were Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Teams, andZoom. Employees who use Microsoft Office save an average of 50 minutes per day compared to those who don’t.

Some of this information may come as a surprise, but one app seems to track the most efficient employees. 70% of the most productive staff members were found to have played Wordle regularly, and 18% felt starting their day playing the online game increased their productivity, according to a survey. I find it relaxing to play Wordle on a daily basis, as I am a remote worker.

The following were popular ways to increase productivity in other areas.

  • Taking social media breaks (49%)
  • Taking lunch breaks (36%)
  • Having a morning routine (34%)
  • Keeping the office space organized (34%)
  • Making to-do lists (32%)

One way to maintain productivity was to use the “Do Not Disturb” feature on the employee’s cell phone. Two-thirds of employees who responded said they use the feature on their phone during the workday, with many reporting that it helps with their productivity levels.

You need to look and sound professional in your home video setup.

Barriers to productivity and the apps that are least efficient

When it comes to working from home, there are a lot of distraction. Whether it be something going on within a living space or the temptation to spend time doing things other than work, these can negatively impact productivity and even lead to earning less in salary.

As per the study, there are five biggest barriers to productivity.

  1. Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Reddit)
  2. Unnecessary emails
  3. Text notifications
  4. Work notifications
  5. Pets

When it comes to getting work done, budgeting time is important. Social media platforms can be useful to increase productivity, but they can become a distraction if used too often. The same goes for notifications and emails, so when attempting to get tasks and projects done, it is key that users try to block out anything that could become a barrier to getting work completed in a timely manner.

The apps that were found to be used by less efficient employees were found to be Discord, Trello,Salesforce and Doodle. It was found that work from home employees waste an average of 20 minutes per day on Discord, which could add up over a number of days and weeks. The time employees spent toggling between these apps made them less efficient. In order to make the workforce more productive and efficient, it’s important for organizations to cut down on the number of apps employees are required to use.