Software Frustritus: A Widespread Epidemic Infecting Enterprise Companies

Software frustritus (n): the feeling of being upset or annoyed at the inability to change or achieve something within a computer program or app.

Picture this: You enter your office Monday morning and something seems off. Your co-workers are all extremely stressed out. They are banging on their computers periodically, pulling their hair out of frustration, and anxiously sobbing.

You look around, searching for an immediate reason for this madness. Then you see it — the new software update scheduled on the calendar, and you quickly feel that same stress welling up.

You have just witnessed an outbreak of software frustritus.

Software frustritus might not yet appear on WebMD, but it’s a serious condition plaguing the workforce. This epidemic is running rampant throughout all types of enterprise companies, from small startups to large corporations.

The source of this plague is confirmed to be linked to new software adoption and employee onboarding. It mainly infects new hires or employees who are onboarding to a new software, but it is known to be highly contagious among office spaces.

Whether it’s a website or software update, struggling to learn a new platform is a phenomenon experienced by employees in companies around the world.

The symptoms

The symptoms of this highly contagious disease include diminished engagement, high-stress levels, and lower productivity.

Some of the more serious side effects of this condition involve keyboard thrashing, aggressive hair pulling and anxious sobbing, and in extreme cases even quitting.

These symptoms are strikingly similar to those of other common psychological disorders. Similarly, the symptoms of employee burnout include exhaustion, irritability and cynicism. The difference is that the symptoms of software frustritus present in the office workspace 100% of the time.

The source of the breakout

Companies expect that their employees will simply onboard and implement a new software and go back to work in no time — however, nothing could be further from the reality.

The challenges of learning how to use a new software are often too much for just about anyone to handle when the onboarding conditions are not right.

In fact, studies show that 90% of what is learned is forgotten within a year. This is due to the lack of proper onboarding strategies, which of course is often followed by outbreaks of software frustritus.

The most telling signs of a breakout are when your employer fails to implement strategies to make the onboarding process smoother and more efficient.

The remedy

While there is no prescribed medication for software frustritus, relief can be found in a well-thought-out and organized training plan. Companies seeking to eradicate this toxic epidemic among their employees can follow these easy steps:

Adequate training budget

As with everything, investing in a proper budget is a must. Make sure you have an adequate training budget so that you can provide your team with all the tools necessary for a productive training process.

Proper planning

Strategic planning is key to helping your team learn to the best of their abilities. When 20% of what is learned stems from collaboration among team members, implementing different techniques that encourage things like social learning will be beneficial for your team all around. Including a fully fledged out plan where employees have the opportunity to work with coworkers is essential.

Post-training follow-up

Follow-up after training is crucial to making sure that your training tactics stick. Once you’ve spent time and resources nurturing your employees’ learning, the last thing you want is for them to forget what they learned.

Implement follow-up exercises in order to reinforce the skills learned. This will help your employees retain knowledge in a higher capacity.

An effective onboarding strategy

This step is one of the most ingredients to the remedy, we could even call it the is the cream of the crop. Without an effective onboarding strategy, your team is bound to catch software frustritus.

An effective onboarding strategy takes your employees’ needs into consideration, provides different methods that accommodate all learning types, and most importantly provides a seamless onboarding experience.

The Conclusion

One of the main goals for every manager is ensuring that their employees feel that they can learn a new software with ease.

Achieving successful digital adoption is easier said than done. It’s crucial that training managers consider the health of the team. Including the proper tools and strategies can help ease the stress of the onboarding process.

Take this quiz to determine if you or your team are suffering from software frustritus today:

1. Do you experience the following emotions when learning a new software?

• Irritability
• Hopelessness
• Confusion

2. Have you observed any of these symptoms infecting your coworkers?

• Keyboard thrashing
• Aggressive hair pulling
• Anxious sobbing
• Quitting

3. Do you dread the process of onboarding to a new software?

• Yes, it gives me anxiety
• No, it makes me happy

If you answered “yes” or if these symptoms resonate with you, then our professional diagnosis is that you’re suffering from software frustritus.