Although technology is often billed as a productivity enhancer, allowing us to do more with less, it can also be a major disruptor for productivity as well.
Employees who get hooked on sending text messages, engaging in Facebook banter, or surfing the net are having a serious drain on productivity in the American workplace. These are two of the main productivity killers in a recent CareerBuilder.com survey on what’s getting in the way of U.S. employees doing their jobs.
Productivity stoppers
Behaviors of co-workers, meetings, and other factors are also creating obstacles to maximizing performance. When asked what they consider to be the primary productivity stoppers in the workplace, employers pointed to:
- Cell phone/texting (50%) – One in four workers admitted that during the typical workday they will spend one hour on personal calls, e-mails and/or sending text messages.
- Gossip (42%) – That chatter in the office, may not always be about work. And often it is talking bad about other co-workers, managers, or outside acquaintances.
- Personal internet use (39%) – One in five workers said that they spend an hour or more every workday searching the internet for non-work-related information, photos, and more.
- Social media (38%) – Other studies have found that Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram are significant drains on employee time.
- Snack breaks or smoking breaks (27%)
- Noisy co-workers (24%) – These are people who have conversations that are too loud while on the phone, or make outbursts when they get annoyed or upset.
- Meetings (23%) – Some organizations just have too many meetings. A lot of time is wasted if they are not succinct and to the point.
- Personal e-mail (23%) – Employees are often busy sending personal e-mails to friends and family.
- Co-workers dropping in (23%) – These are those little chat sessions when a colleague stops by another person’s desk for some chitchat.
- Co-workers putting calls on speaker phone (10%)
Strategies for improving productivity
So what are employers doing to cut into these bad habits? Some tactics that employers are using are:
- Blocking certain internet sites – 36%
- Prohibiting personal calls or personal use of cell phones – 25%
- Monitoring emails and internet usage – 22%
- Scheduling lunch and break times – 19%
- Allowing people to telecommute – 14%
- Implementing an open space layout instead of cubicles – 13%
- Limiting meetings – 12%
- Restricting use of speaker phones in the office – 11%
Want to improve productivity at your workplace?
Contact us to start the conversation with one of our consultants.
UBF Consulting helps companies become great places to work. Employers across the country come to UBF for help with strategic human capital insight, improving the employee experience, helping employees reach their maximum potential, creating a culture of trust, managing population health, and maximizing value in their total compensation and benefit programs.
Michelle Cheuk has her B.A. in Sociology from Wellesley College and M.A. in Sociology/Demography from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. At UBF, she is focused on marketing, business development, and project management. In her spare time, she enjoys parenting, going to the gym, and volunteering.
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