The key information generated by employees, that companies should retain in a corporate memory to boost productivity
Exact data on the daily generation of important documents (those worth archiving for future use, such as substantive emails, formal letters, reports, presentations, spreadsheets, and other files like contracts or proposals) is limited and often aggregated across office workers rather than broken down by specific company types. Most available statistics focus on overall office productivity, email volume, or paper/digital output, with estimates derived from surveys by firms like IDC, McKinsey, and Radicati Group. These suggest that knowledge workers (common in tech, finance, and healthcare) generate 5–15 important documents per day on average, while manufacturing roles trend lower (2–8) due to more process-oriented work.
Key caveats:
- “Generation” here includes creating, editing, or sending documents that contribute to business value and are retained.
- Emails dominate volume, but only ~20–30% are deemed important (e.g., non-spam, actionable communications).
- Industry variations stem from role differences: high in client-facing sectors, lower in production-focused ones.
- Data is from 2022–2025 sources, reflecting hybrid/digital work trends.
Estimated Daily Important Document Generation by Company Type
The table below synthesizes available metrics, prioritizing retained documents. Estimates are averages for typical employees (e.g., excluding executives or entry-level roles). Sources include email send/receive stats, printing/output proxies, and productivity reports.
| Company Type | Emails (Sent/Received, Important Only) | Letters/Reports | Presentations | Spreadsheets | Other (e.g., Contracts, Proposals) | Total Estimated Important Documents/Day | Key Notes/Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tech/IT | 15–25 (out of 40 total sent) | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1–2 (e.g., code docs, specs) | 20–35 | High collaboration; 37% of daily work in spreadsheets. 66% use Excel hourly. |
| Finance | 20–30 (out of 40 sent) | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–4 (e.g., compliance forms) | 25–40 | Report-heavy; revenue per employee metrics emphasize document output for audits. |
| Healthcare | 10–20 (out of 30 total) | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 (e.g., patient records) | 15–30 | EHR-focused; productivity tied to patient outcomes and tech utilization (e.g., 80 hrs/FTE for records). |
| Manufacturing | 5–10 (out of 20 total) | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 (e.g., specs, logs) | 8–17 | Output per worker-hour; fewer docs, more process metrics (e.g., units produced). |
| General Office | 10–20 (out of 40 sent) | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 12–26 | Baseline for knowledge workers; 50% time on doc creation/search. |
Key Insights and Supporting Data
- Emails: The most common document type. Office workers send ~40 emails/day but only 25–50% are important (e.g., non-routine, archived for reference). Received volume is ~121/day total, with ~32 important in US/UK surveys.
- Other Documents: Proxies like printing (45 sheets/day average, ~10–20 important) indicate creation rates, but digital tools (e.g., Microsoft Office) shift this to ~5–10 non-email docs/day. Workers spend 50% of time creating/preparing docs, equating to ~4 hours/day or 8–12 items.
- Industry Variations: Tech/finance see higher volumes due to collaboration (e.g., 92% use email for doc sharing). Manufacturing focuses on efficiency metrics like units/hour, reducing doc needs. Healthcare emphasizes quality (e.g., patient records) over quantity.
- Trends: 83% of employees recreate docs due to search issues, inflating generation by 20–30%. AI tools (e.g., Celiveo 365, Copilot) are reducing creation time by 20–50% in 2025.
Overview of Data on Important Document Generation by Employee Roles
Data on daily important document generation (retained for future use, such as substantive emails, reports, presentations, spreadsheets, and others like contracts) varies significantly by role due to differences in communication intensity, analytical demands, and creative output. Estimates are derived from 2023–2025 surveys and reports (e.g., from ADP Research, Microsoft productivity studies, and email analytics), focusing on knowledge workers. Overall, roles like executives and sales reps generate more due to high collaboration, while operational roles produce fewer but more standardized items.
Key caveats:
- “Generation” includes creating, editing, or sending retained documents.
- Only ~25–30% of emails are important (non-routine, actionable).
- Time proxies (e.g., 7 hours/week on emails ≈ 1–2 hours/day) inform estimates, assuming 5–10 minutes per document.
- Trends show AI tools reducing creation time by 20–73% in 2025, but volumes remain high.
Estimated Daily Important Document Generation by Employee Role
The table below provides role-specific averages across industries, based on synthesized data. Roles are selected for breadth: leadership (high oversight), client-facing (high communication), analytical (high data work), and operational (process-focused).
| Employee Role | Emails (Sent/Received, Important Only) | Letters/Reports | Presentations | Spreadsheets | Other (e.g., Contracts, Proposals) | Total Estimated Important Documents/Day | Key Notes/Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive/Manager | 25–40 (out of 50–100 total) | 2–4 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 2–3 (e.g., strategy docs) | 30–50 | High volume from oversight; 5–15 hours/week on email. Executives handle 2x average docs for decisions. |
| Sales/Marketing Rep | 30–50 (out of 60–120 total) | 1–2 | 2–4 | 1–2 | 3–5 (e.g., proposals, pitches) | 35–60 | Client outreach drives volume; <30% time selling due to doc prep, but automation saves 82% on proposals. |
| Analyst/Finance Professional | 15–30 (out of 40–80 total) | 2–3 | 0–1 | 3–5 | 1–3 (e.g., audits, forecasts) | 20–40 | Data-heavy; 37% daily time in spreadsheets, 7.7 hours/week total. Reports for compliance inflate totals. |
| HR Specialist | 20–35 (out of 50–90 total) | 3–5 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 4–6 (e.g., offer letters, evals) | 25–45 | Doc generation focus; vast array like contracts, with automation yielding 82% time savings. |
| IT/Support Engineer | 10–25 (out of 30–70 total) | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–4 (e.g., tickets, specs) | 15–35 | Ticket/resolution docs; 73% time saved on creation via AI, but logs for audits add up. |
| General Admin/Operational | 10–20 (out of 40–80 total) | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 (e.g., logs, forms) | 12–27 | Baseline; 23% time checking emails, with daily reports common but low volume. |
Key Insights and Supporting Data
- Emails: Dominate across roles, with executives and sales reps seeing 2–3x the average (121 received/day overall, but 25–40% important). Time spent: 1–3 hours/day, equating to 20–50 items.
- Other Documents: Analytical roles emphasize spreadsheets (7.7 hours/week ≈ 3–5/day); creative/client roles focus on presentations/proposals (6.5 hours/week ≈ 1–4/day). HR/IT generate more “other” due to compliance/forms.
- Role Variations: Leadership roles prioritize oversight (higher totals); operational roles focus on efficiency (lower, standardized docs). 72% of weekly hours across roles spent on productivity apps. 83% recreate docs due to search issues, adding 20% to volumes.
- Trends: AI (e.g., Copilot) cuts document creation by 73% for some roles, but email volume rises 6–7% yearly. Track via tools like Microsoft 365 for role-specific analytics.
