According to employee experience platform Haiilo’s State of the Employee Experience 2026: The Hidden Cost of Digital Work report, widespread digital friction is forcing staff to spend time navigating disconnected systems rather than focusing on patient care and other essential work.
The findings suggest disconnected digital systems are consuming valuable time at a point when healthcare providers are under increasing pressure from workforce shortages, rising demand and stretched resources.
More than half (53 per cent) of healthcare workers spend at least 11 per cent of their working week – the equivalent of more than four hours a week in typical full-time employment – dealing with problems caused by fragmented workplace systems. Almost one in five (19 per cent) spend close to a third of their working time resolving issues created by disconnected tools and processes.
The lost time is driven by the complexity of today’s digital workplace. Nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of healthcare workers say they often or always need to switch between multiple workplace tools to complete a single task, while 59 per cent use four or more workplace platforms during a typical working week, creating constant interruptions to their workflow.
Hannah Soye, chief people and culture officer at Haiilo, said: “Healthcare professionals work in some of the busiest and most demanding environments imaginable, yet many are still spending crucial time navigating systems that don’t work together effectively.
“These moments of digital friction may seem small in isolation, but when multiplied across an organisation, the productivity impact becomes substantial, taking time and attention away from work that really matters.
“Many of these inefficiencies have become accepted as simply part of the job, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Organisations have an opportunity to remove much of that friction by creating more connected digital workplaces that help people find information quickly and work more efficiently. In healthcare settings, where every hour counts, reducing that friction can have a meaningful impact on both productivity and the employee experience.”