{
  "id": "F-01",
  "url": "https://evy.so/facts/time-spent-searching-for-information/",
  "chapter": "Where the Week Goes",
  "question": "How much of the work week do knowledge workers spend searching for information?",
  "answer": "The most-cited studies put it at 19 to 25 percent of the work week, or about 9 to 10 hours. Across all five studies the estimates run from about 5 to 15 hours a week, because each one defines searching a little differently.",
  "range": {
    "low": 19,
    "high": 25,
    "unit": "% of the work week",
    "display": "19–25% of the work week, about 9 to 10 hours"
  },
  "spread": {
    "low": 5,
    "high": 15,
    "unit": "hours a week"
  },
  "confidence": "medium",
  "confidence_reason": "Three independent studies agree on 19 to 25 percent, but all five are self-reported surveys, and two vendor surveys sit well below and above that cluster.",
  "last_checked": "2026-10-13",
  "how_to_read": "All five figures are people's own estimates; none comes from time tracking. They also count different things: McKinsey includes tracking down colleagues, Qatalog counts only searching inside work apps, and Atlassian gives no definition. McKinsey re-used IDC's 2009 survey, so its number is a 2009 measurement published in 2012. Three of the five creators sell search or work-hub software. Hours assume a 5-day week; McKinsey's share uses the 46.5-hour week its respondents reported.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "creator": "McKinsey Global Institute, using IDC survey data",
      "title": "The social economy: Unlocking value and productivity through social technologies",
      "year": 2012,
      "sample": "Managers and professionals in IDC's 2009 survey; sample size not stated",
      "method": "Re-analysis of IDC's self-reported time-use survey",
      "figure": "19% of the week (8.8 of 46.5 hours)",
      "url": "https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-social-economy",
      "archive_url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260710105837/https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/technology-media-and-telecommunications/our-insights/the-social-economy",
      "quote": "19 percent of working hours trying to track down information needed to complete tasks"
    },
    {
      "creator": "Atlassian Teamwork Lab",
      "title": "The State of Teams 2025",
      "year": 2025,
      "sample": "12,000 knowledge workers and 200 Fortune 1000 executives in the US, UK, Australia, India, Germany and France",
      "method": "Online survey, self-reported",
      "figure": "25% of the workweek",
      "url": "https://www.atlassian.com/blog/state-of-teams-2025",
      "quote": "Executives and teams alike spend a quarter of the workweek searching for information"
    },
    {
      "creator": "Glean, survey by The Harris Poll",
      "title": "Hybrid Workplace Habits & Hangups",
      "year": 2022,
      "sample": "1,043 employed US adults",
      "method": "Online survey, December 2021, self-reported. Glean sells enterprise search.",
      "figure": "At least 2 hours a day, or 25% of the workweek, looking for documents, information or people",
      "url": "https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220208005510/en/Hybrid-Workplace-Habits-Hangups-Report-Frustrated-Employees-Spend-a-Quarter-of-Workweek-Searching-for-Information-Needed-to-Do-Their-Jobs",
      "archive_url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20260615090357/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220208005510/en/Hybrid-Workplace-Habits-Hangups-Report-Frustrated-Employees-Spend-a-Quarter-of-Workweek-Searching-for-Information-Needed-to-Do-Their-Jobs",
      "quote": "spend, on average, at least two hours a day"
    },
    {
      "creator": "Qatalog with Cornell University's Ellis Idea Lab",
      "title": "Workgeist Report '21",
      "year": 2021,
      "sample": "Three surveys of about 1,000 remote-working professionals each, US and UK",
      "method": "Online surveys, March 2021, self-reported. Counts only searching inside work apps. Qatalog sells a work hub.",
      "figure": "59 minutes a day finding information trapped in apps and tools",
      "url": "https://qatalog.com/",
      "archive_url": "https://web.archive.org/web/20210624191022/https://assets.qatalog.com/language.work/qatalog-2021-workgeist-report.pdf",
      "quote": "up to 5 hours a week, just trying to find what we need"
    },
    {
      "creator": "Coveo, survey by Arlington Research",
      "title": "EX Relevance Report 2025: The Search for Relevance",
      "year": 2025,
      "sample": "4,000 people who use a computer for work at companies with 5,000 or more staff, US and UK",
      "method": "Online survey, self-reported. Coveo sells AI search.",
      "figure": "3 hours a day searching for information (3.6 hours in the 2022 edition)",
      "url": "https://www.coveo.com/en/company/news-releases/2025/coveo-ex-relevance-report",
      "quote": "an average of three hours daily searching for information"
    }
  ],
  "related_findings": [
    {
      "question": "How many hours a day do people spend looking for information?",
      "answer": "About 1.8 to 2 hours a day in the main cluster: McKinsey's 8.8 hours a week over 5 days, and Glean's at least 2 hours a day. The full spread runs from about 1 hour a day (Qatalog, inside work apps only) to 3 hours a day (Coveo).",
      "sources": []
    }
  ],
  "numbers_you_may_have_seen": [
    {
      "claim": "McKinsey: 19.8% of the week is spent searching for information.",
      "what_the_source_says": "The report says 19 percent, and \"nearly 20 percent\" in its summary. The figure 19.8% does not appear in it."
    },
    {
      "claim": "IDC: knowledge workers spend 15 to 35% of their time searching, or 2.5 hours a day.",
      "what_the_source_says": "The 2.5 hours was a working assumption IDC used to model costs in 2001. The 15 to 35% rolls up older studies that are not named, so neither figure traces back to a measurement."
    },
    {
      "claim": "Gartner: professionals spend 47% of their time searching for information.",
      "what_the_source_says": "Gartner's 2023 survey found that 47% of digital workers struggle to find the information they need. It counts people and gives no figure for time."
    },
    {
      "claim": "Microsoft: 62% of time goes to searching for information.",
      "what_the_source_says": "In Microsoft's 2023 Work Trend Index, 62% of people say they struggle with too much time spent searching. It is a share of people and gives no figure for time."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "EVY (2026). How much of the work week do knowledge workers spend searching for information? The AI at Work Fact Book, F-01. https://evy.so/facts/time-spent-searching-for-information/ (last checked October 13, 2026). CC BY 4.0.",
  "license": "CC BY 4.0"
}