Too Much Data? Growing Volume of Data Causing Distress for Decision Makers

A new tenet of modern business is that having access to more data empowers better decisions. But for the people responsible for guiding and expanding that ecosystem and for the end users responsible for making decisions based on the data collected, a growing body of research indicates there’s a dark side to accumulating more data, and it’s not just the cost of accessing it. According to a recent study from database and ERP giant Oracle, data gathering has started to feel excessive, causing considerable stress as people build and adapt to these new tools.  For the humans working closest to the data, the daily reality can feel punishing. 

"70% of people are saying that the headache of having to collect and interpret so much data is too much to handle and 21% have already given up, stating they are going back to making decisions solely based on gut instincts."

Nearly 93% of the 14,000 business leaders polled by Oracle, DKC Analytics, and the author and data scientist Seth Stephans-Davidowitz, said they understand having the right decision intelligence is crucial to their organization’s success. Yet, 91% indicated the growing number of data sources has limited that success, and eighty-six percent of respondents indicated that the volume of data presented to them is making decisions in their personal and professional lives more complicated.  Moreover, almost three-quarters admitted their lack of trust in the data they’re working with has stopped them from making a decision at all.

The challenges of adapting to a data-driven world are having wide-ranging personal implications for mental health, creating what the report’s authors called ‘decision dilemmas’ that aren’t easily resolved.

Virtually all of those polled (85%) reported that the inability to make decisions is having a negative impact on their quality of life.  In fact, 60% of respondents said they experienced not knowing what decision to make more than once every day. And 70% acknowledged they have given up on making a decision because the data was too overwhelming.  

"Data needs to be relevant to the decisions we make, or we will give up on it,” the authors wrote. “That might sound dramatic, but 70% of people are saying that the headache of having to collect and interpret so much data is too much to handle and 21% have already given up, stating they are going back to making decisions solely based on gut instincts. This is a huge problem as people know that without data their decisions would be less accurate, less successful, and more prone to error."

All that said, business leaders surveyed in the report agreed that having no access to data would make their decisions less accurate and harm their organizations. The Decision Dilemma requires a new approach to data, the report concludes. The report is light on pathways to implementing a new approach to data and decision-making, but it does outline a problem that is likely to get worse. Unfortunately, the answer to “how much is too much?” remains unclear.

We’d love to hear from you how you and your organization are coping with the massive influx of data to your decision-making process, and if you’re feeling the stress as well.