The Productivity Paradox of Digital Overload

(A Study on Higher Education Employee Work Effectiveness)

Abstract

Background: The transition toward Society 5.0 has integrated multi-platform digital technologies within higher education. However, this connectivity creates digital communication overload, introducing severe cognitive burdens for university staff. Aims: This study statistically examines the impact of Digital Communication Overload on Employee Work Effectiveness and maps micro-level cognitive implications within a higher education bureaucracy. Methodology: Employing an explanatory quantitative design under positivism, this study applied a census approach targeting all 115 active administrative staff at FISIP UI. Data gathered through online questionnaires were analyzed using simple linear regression following Z-Score composite index standardization to resolve metric variance disparities. Result: The regression model reveals that Digital Communication Overload has a significant, positive effect on work effectiveness ($B = 0.008$; $p = 0.002$), contributing 8.5% to its variance and exposing a "productivity paradox" where constant cyber demands force responsive reactions. However, descriptive analysis unveils an acute cognitive toll: staff manage an average of 3.75 digital platforms simultaneously, experiencing 6.24 interruptions per hour and 5.98 errors per month. To maintain an 85.94% deadline compliance, staff sacrifice efficiency by allocating an extra 15.90 minutes of re-checking time per task. Conclusion: While multi-platform digitalization stimulates output speed, it degrades internal cognitive efficiency and invades domestic time. Effectively, institutions must implement a "Right to Disconnect" policy and channel standardization to mitigate long-term cognitive fatigue.