New Research from Crucial.com Highlights the Close Relationship between Technology and Productivity
Americans’ age, gender and attitude toward technology defines their ability to live efficiently, according to new data released by Crucial.com. The independent research was conducted by GMI Research and commissioned by Crucial.com to better understand how Americans view their personal level of productivity. A common thread in the research showed that people are highly dependent on technology when it comes to increasing their level of efficiency.
Key Findings
- Technologically Torn: In today’s digital world, 87 percent of Americans admit technology plays an important role in their productivity and 63 percent admit their efficiency is most affected when technology lets them down. Despite Americans knowing what they need to run efficiently, they fall short in understanding what will keep their technology just as productive. Three-quarters of Americans have ‘no idea’ what computer memory is (ironically, as computer memory is essentially what allows Americans to perform many of the everyday digital tasks they rely on to be productive, such as browsing the web, using Word/Excel, having multiple programs open), and only 37 percent feel confident about fixing their computer should a problem arise.
- Men vs. Women: Although two-thirds of Americans believe their efficiency is above average, 67 percent of men believe they are more efficient than women and 90 percent of women believe they are more efficient than men. As for what makes people more productive? Four in ten men ranked having a fast computer, while six in ten women said getting more sleep. However, nearly all men and women (97 percent) agree that sleep and exercise play important roles in increasing productivity.
- Generational Divide: Every generation thought baby boomers were the most efficient except for millennials, who thought they were the most efficient. Seventy eight percent of millennials said technology is a very important factor when it comes to their level of productivity.
- Productivity Precision: Sixty-two percent of Americans feel most productive during the morning (between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.), and when it comes to pinpointing an exact time for optimal efficiency, men and women agree they are most productive at10:00 a.m. What’s more, nine in ten respondents agree fall is their most productive season, while winter and summer are the most unproductive.
- Efficiency Envy: Of those Americans who did not identify themselves as “highly efficient,” one in three admitted that efficient people make them jealous.
- Habits of the Highly Efficient: Nearly three-quarters of respondents who consider themselves “highly efficient” have very organized email inboxes and 65 percent confirm multitasking is an important factor; 44 percent of women credited time management as their top reason for efficiency, while men credit their ability to use technology. In fact, men ranked having their gadgets/technology working properly more important than exercise.
“For people who are trying to live more efficiently, especially with everything we do now heavily relying on computers, one of the best ways to fully realize their potential is to garner a better working knowledge of their devices,” explained Crucial.com Marketing Manager, Ed Walker. “For example, improving a computer’s performance via a computer memory upgrade is one of the easiest ways a person can improve their productivity, while also saving time and money on slow loading applications and costly repairs.”
For additional information about Crucial or computer memory upgrades, please visit Crucial.com.
Research findings are based on a survey conducted in the US in April 2015, which polled 1,000 adults aged 18-65 about their tech aptitude. The survey was completed through GMI’s Global Test Market double opted in panelists who have registered to participate in online surveys. Respondents who were invited to participate in this survey were split equally on gender. Differential sampling was done to account for response rate differences by demographics. Quotas were also set in the survey to ensure that over representation of the age and gender groups involved did not occur.
