While many businesses prioritize autonomy and workplace flexibility to improve worker productivity, 65% of employees say that a lack of data is what most negatively impacts the  ability to do their jobs. That's according to a new report issued by the digital workplace platform Slingshot.

Part one of the two-part "2023 Digital Works Trend Report" explores the relationship between productivity and workers' access to data or other metrics within an organization that illustrate performance and progress. According Slingshot, the report "shines a light on how data … is now not only accessible to employees, but a critical and necessary part [of] their productivity."

"Over the last two decades, we've seen a shift in how decisions in the workplace are made — going from gut instincts and seniority-led decisions to those based on data that's now more widely accessible," Dean Guida, Slingshot's founder, said in a statement. "This is especially true of newer generations that are particularly tuned into the value of being able to quantify their work and re-route their focus if something isn't working."