INTHEBLACK April 2025 - Magazine - Page 55
FOR A LONG TIME, COLLABORATION HAS
been a buzzword in the workplace.
According to popular belief, a group
working collaboratively can produce better
results than an individual — as summed up
in the adage “two heads are better than one”.
While this may have proved true in the
past, research is beginning to show that
in some instances, collaboration can
hamper productivity.
According to a report published in the
Harvard Business Review, collaborative
activities such as attending meetings and
responding to emails account for as much
as 80 per cent of employees’ time in many
organisations, leaving little time to complete
essential tasks. The consequences of this
phenomenon, described as “collaboration
overload”, include declines in performance
and increased employee burnout and turnover.
Research also shows that collaboration
doesn’t always deliver a return on investment.
A 2023 study found that, in many cases,
collective decision-making did not improve
accuracy and took longer than an individual
working alone.
How can organisations redesign teamwork
to avoid collaboration overload?
COLLABORATION ISN’T ALWAYS
THE ANSWER
Collaboration is a valuable tool for accessing
collective intelligence to solve problems or
create value within organisations.
However, its popularity means it has become
the default in many settings.
“People assume that collaboration is the best
way of approaching all problems, but we need
to be much more selective,” says Professor
Anya Johnson from the University of Sydney
Business School.
Johnson says collaboration is useful in
solving “sticky problems” where the outcome
is uncertain, rather than straightforward
scenarios where practices are already in place.
“The challenge of collaboration is, one,
it takes time — you can't do it quickly.
And two, it takes energy, so people invest time
in identifying solutions.
“If there's too much collaboration, there’s
a danger we create too much complexity in
the solutions we're creating.”
Collaboration can serve another purpose.
“It's not just about solving the problem,”
Johnson says. “It's also about engaging people
and getting their buy-in for the solution.”
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 55
