The Asana Anatomy of Work 2023

What is the Anatomy of Work Global Index?

AOW was launched in 2019 as a way to create more opportunities for deeper press coverage supporting category leadership, brand awareness and credibility. The report is our in-depth look at the behaviors and attitudes of nearly 10,000 knowledge workers from Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, U.K., and the U.S.. We continue to innovate on the report every year and first time ever, this year's report features insights from Asana customers alongside best-selling, world-renowned, third-party experts. We’ve always known that collaboration is key to running a successful business, and now, there’s proof. 

While hybrid working has been the reality for more than three years, it is clear that businesses and workers are still grappling with barriers to productivity. “Work about work” — time spent on work coordination rather than the skilled, strategic jobs they want to do — remains how workers spend the majority — 58% — of their day. Today, organizations cannot afford to allow such barriers to stand in the way of effective collaboration.

Conducted by GlobalWebIndex (GWI) on behalf of Asana, the 2023 Anatomy of Work Global Index surveyed the behaviors and attitudes of more than 9,615 knowledge workers across the United States, U.K., Australia, France, Germany, and Japan to understand the impact of cross-functional collaboration, including what’s working — and what’s not.

What new things did we uncover? 

The ROI of Collaboration

• 55% of workers at collaborative organizations report revenue growth over the past three years—almost double weak collaborators.

The Power to Pivot 

• 79% of workers at collaborative organizations feel well-prepared to adapt to emergent business challenges—four times higher than weak collaborators.

The Cost of Isolation 

• Almost all workers at collaborative organizations say their work has value—versus just 50% of weak collaborators.

The Good in Goals

• 87% of workers at companies with clear, connected goals say their organization is well-prepared to meet customer expectations—more than double those without