As the number of apps and digital tools used by employees continues to grow, app fatigue has become a common issue in the workplace. According to a recent survey, 71% of employees feel that the sheer number of apps they use makes their work more complex.
One major contributor to app fatigue is the constant stream of notifications and alerts that employees receive. Whether it’s a ping from a team chat, a notification of an available update, or an alert of a security issue, the overwhelming amount of notifications can cause people to start ignoring them altogether.
These alerts come from various sources, including software apps on computers, web-based SaaS tools, mobile apps, team communication tools, and even text messages and email banners. In some cases, employees receive the same notification on multiple devices, which only adds to the problem.
App fatigue can have serious implications for productivity and cybersecurity. Employees overwhelmed by notifications may miss important security alerts, making them more vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Furthermore, introducing new apps often means creating new passwords, which can be a significant challenge for employees juggling an average of 191 passwords. On average, employees use at least 154 of these passwords during the month, which adds to the burden of app fatigue.
In summary, app fatigue is a real and growing issue in the workplace, with implications for both productivity and cybersecurity. Organizations must find ways to manage the number of apps and notifications their employees receive while also ensuring that essential security alerts are not missed.
The Risk of App Fatigue: How It Can Put Companies in Danger
Employees Ignoring App Updates
App fatigue can cause employees to become overwhelmed with notifications, leading them to ignore even essential tasks such as installing app updates. They may feel like they don’t have the time to spare or aren’t sure how long the update will take.
However, ignoring app updates can be extremely dangerous. Many updates include critical security patches to address vulnerabilities that have been found. When these updates are not installed, the device and its network become more vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
In short, ignoring app updates can be a significant security risk for companies. It is essential to manage app fatigue and ensure that employees regularly update their devices and applications to maintain a secure and safe work environment.
App Fatigue and Weak Passwords: A Major Security Concern
App fatigue can also lead to poor password security, as employees create multiple accounts for different apps and services. This often results in password reuse, estimated to occur 64% of the time.
Weak passwords are a significant data risk and can leave accounts vulnerable to credential breaches. If a hacker can crack a weak password, they can access multiple accounts if the same password is used in multiple services.
Therefore, companies must educate their employees on the importance of strong and unique passwords and provide tools for managing and generating secure passwords. This can help to prevent credential breaches and protect sensitive company data.
The Risk of Alert Fatigue: Why Employees Turning Off Alerts is Dangerous
While turning off notifications for specific apps or services may be tempting, it can be dangerous to turn off essential security alerts. However, app fatigue can cause employees to become overwhelmed with notifications, leading them to turn off all alerts across all apps and services.
The danger in turning off alerts is that important notifications can be missed. For example, an anti-malware app may warn about a newly discovered virus, but if the employee has turned off all notifications, they may miss this critical alert.
Therefore, companies must find a balance between providing security alerts and minimizing unnecessary notifications. This can be achieved through proper configuration of notification settings and regular education and training for employees on which alerts are critical and should not be turned off.
Addressing App Fatigue: Empowering Employees to Take Control of Their Technology
To combat app fatigue, empowering employees to take control of their technology is important. This involves implementing strategies that allow employees to manage their apps and notifications effectively and efficiently while promoting integrated platforms to streamline app usage.
Minimizing Apps for Improved Productivity and Security
Reducing the number of apps used in the workplace can enhance both productivity and security. This approach leads to less risk, fewer passwords to manage, and fewer notifications to address.
To streamline app usage, assess the current tools and identify any redundancies. Consider consolidating to an umbrella platform such as Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, which provide multiple work tools accessible through a single login.
Delegate App Notification Settings to IT Team
To avoid overwhelming users with notifications, delegate the responsibility of setting up app notifications to the IT team. This ensures that users receive the most important notifications without being bombarded with irrelevant ones.
Automate Application Updates
Automating application updates is a cybersecurity best practice that can enhance productivity and security. By taking the process out of employees’ hands, unnecessary updates are removed from their view. Managed services solutions can automate device updates, reducing the risk of vulnerable apps putting your network at risk.
Promote Two-Way Communication About Alerts
Some employees may hesitate to turn off alerts for fear of getting in trouble. Meanwhile, managers may not realize constant app alert interruptions hinder productivity.
To address this issue, promote open communication with employees and let them know they can contact you with any concerns about app alerts. Discuss effective ways to use alerts and how to manage them for a more productive workday.
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