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Have you ever faced such a flood of information that you simply couldn’t cope? It’s a situation many people encounter in their personal lives—but above all, in the workplace. And this information overload is not harmless: it can have serious consequences on organizational productivity, employee mental health, and even physical well-being.
Let’s break down this phenomenon to understand it better—and identify the preventive measures companies can put in place.
The term “infobesity” is a combination of “information” and “obesity.” It refers to the overload of information an individual faces, and the difficulty of sorting, processing, and assimilating such an excessive volume.
In the workplace, this may look like a never-ending flow of emails piling up, too many internal resources that employees stop consulting altogether, or constant notifications pulling attention away from priority tasks.
The constant use of digital tools and new technologies is a major cause of infobesity. Employees can access an almost infinite amount of data, messages, and documents at any time, from anywhere. But what exactly drives this overload?
Multitasking means juggling several tasks at once—such as answering emails during a meeting or analyzing a document while chatting on instant messaging platforms. This fragmented attention makes it harder to process information efficiently and increases cognitive fatigue.
Platforms like Slack, Teams, or email generate endless streams of messages. Notifications and the expectation of quick replies disrupt concentration and create a feeling of mental saturation.
Easy access to databases, reports, and analytics tools can overwhelm teams. The challenge is no longer collecting information, but filtering and identifying what really matters, which complicates decision-making.
Several signs make it possible to recognize information overload.
Cognitive and psychological symptoms include:
Physical symptoms are often linked to constant information consumption, or result from the psychological strain:
Infobesity is not just a temporary state of stress. It can have short-, medium-, and long-term consequences on employee well-being.
The accumulation of information to process—combined with pressure to respond quickly or make decisions—creates chronic stress. This affects not only mental health at work, but also spills over into personal life, especially when boundaries between the two are blurred.
Stress is also considered a psychosocial risk, for which employers must implement prevention measures to protect employee health.
Faced with excessive amounts of information, the brain cannot process everything. This leads to a drain of mental resources, comparable to work overload, which is a known factor in burnout.
Infobesity is therefore a risk factor for mental health deterioration, potentially leading to exhaustion syndromes and depression.
Difficulty concentrating and prioritizing tasks can leave employees feeling ineffective and powerless. Work no longer brings satisfaction: self-esteem drops, motivation decreases, and engagement weakens.
Beyond employee well-being, the impact on the company is direct: lower productivity, higher absenteeism, and more frequent delays.
Infobesity is not inevitable. Here are some practical ways for employees and organizations to prevent it.
Employees can adopt simple strategies to reduce overload:
Managers and HR can also create a healthier work environment that limits infobesity and helps employees manage overload:
Beyond targeted actions against information overload, a comprehensive approach to mental health at work can reduce its negative effects. Within your well-being and QWL (Quality of Work Life) strategy, you can:
Integrating a workplace well-being solution such as teale into your mental health policy is also a powerful lever. It equips employees with concrete tools to better cope with cognitive overload and helps embed a healthier, more human work culture over the long term.
