The Future of Work Isn’t About Tools, It’s About Time.

Guest Experience, Purchases & Savings, Trends & Insights, Uncategorized

How smarter technology choices can help teams work better, not just busier.

In every industry from hospitality to tech, we’ve reached a tipping point. There’s a tool for everything: planning, messaging, analytics, automation. But paradoxically, the more platforms we bring in, the less time we seem to have.

The question isn’t if we need technology, it’s which technology truly moves us forward. Because the future of work won’t be defined by how many tools we use, but by how much time those tools give back.

When Tech Creates More Work

Sometimes, the tools meant to simplify end up being complicated.

For example:

A 2025 survey found that workers switch between tabs, apps or platforms an average of 33 times per day, and 17% switch more than 100 times daily.¹
A 2025 study by Microsoft found employees get interrupted every two minutes during core work hours, up to 275 times a day for the most disrupted group.²
A scoping literature review in 2025 concluded that excessive digital engagement leads to reduced job performance and elevated stress (“digital fatigue”).³

In hospitality and F&B operations, this plays out as multiple disconnected systems for orders, inventory, reservations, analytics, each efficient alone, but collectively exhausting. One operations manager summarized it:

“We use multiple systems just to fulfil one order. It’s supposed to be faster, but it drains our focus.”

Tech That Works Together, Not Against You

Smarter systems don’t just exist, they orchestrate. They are built so ordering, supplier management, analytics and operations talk to each other rather than competing for attention.

In companies that have reduced “tool fatigue”, they report fewer context-switches, clearer workflows and less manual carry-over between platforms.
For example, the 2025 survey noted:

Nearly 79% of workers said their company had not taken steps to reduce tool fatigue or consolidate platforms.¹ 22% reported losing 2 or more hours every week due to tool fatigue, and the average worker lost about 51 minutes per week.¹

The goal isn’t to adopt more dashboards. It’s to integrate systems so they fade into the background, so people can focus on service, creativity and growth instead of tab-hopping.

The New Measure of Efficiency

We often mistake motion for progress, full calendars, flashing dashboards, endless alerts. But real efficiency is about flow, not frenzy.

Research is clear: A fragmented digital environment and continuous connectivity have been shown to impair productivity and employee well-being.

The review on digital fatigue noted that high digital tool usage correlates with poorer job satisfaction and increased turnover intention.⁴
Interruptions every 2 minutes (Microsoft data) lead to more time lost to reorientation and less deep work.²

Forward-thinking teams are shifting their metric from tools adopted to time saved. They ask: “How much time does this tool give back to us?” rather than “What can this tool do?”

When technology gives back time, it gives back focus, balance and purpose.

Building a Future That Feels Lighter

The future of work isn’t anti-tech, it’s pro-time.
It’s about choosing tools that enhance how we think and collaborate, not tools that add steps to every process.

At Lilo, the belief is simple: technology should quietly elevate the day-to-day, freeing teams to think, connect and create. Because productivity isn’t measured in dashboards opened, but in hours reclaimed for what really counts.

Let’s Talk About Smarter Systems

If your team is ready to simplify, streamline and reclaim hours every week, request a demo and see how connected operations can help you work better, not just busier.

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