All this digital technology isn't making us more productive

The modern office appears to be awash in exciting new productivity technology that didn't exist 15 years ago, but a disturbing new report from Wells Fargo notes that measured productivity is slowing down in almost every industry. Of particular note is professional and technical services, where economic data says there has been no increase in the productivity of your basic office worker.

This is interesting because the information technology sector has certainly continued to march ahead at a rapid pace. And that's equipped the modern professional and technical services worker with all kinds of cool new tools. You can collaborate on cloud-based documents. You can videoconference with your remote colleagues. You can schedule meetings with Google Calendar. You can read and answer e-mails on the fly with your iPhone. Your laptop is far more powerful than 2003's desktop, and it's far more flexible as well. Your office might have a Wi-Fi network and an Internal chat system, and you can manage your benefits online. Yet even though we are getting way better at producing technology tools, the tools themselves don't seem to be helping white-collar workers actually get more done.