3 keys to keep employees focused while working from home

In a July 2014 memo to employees, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated, “We are moving from a world where computing power was scarce to a place where it now is almost limitless, and where the true scarce commodity is increasingly human attention.”

The notion that humans are paying less attention isn’t new. In fact, a 2016 New York Times article, “The Eight-Second Attention Span,” presented research findings asserting that our attention span—at eight seconds—is less than that of a goldfish, which is nine seconds.

Goldfish aside, researchers have been trying to understand this issue for years as employers have sought to increase employee focus and productivity. Keeping workers focused has always been a challenge, and now, with the coronavirus pandemic circling the globe, scores of employees are struggling to be productive while working from home.

While remote work isn’t new, it’s new for many employees and organizations. As companies navigate this new landscape, leaders will need to figure out how to help their remote employees maintain their focus by addressing two key issues: technology and human interactions.

Technology presents an opportunity and a challenge