Wasting Time at Work - Boredom and Frustration
From the Eye on the Workforce Blog
by Joe Wynne
Workforce management is a key part of project success, but project managers often find it difficult to get trustworthy information on what really works. From interpersonal interactions to big workforce issues we'll look the latest research and proven techniques to find the most effective solutions for your projects.
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Date
My last post introduced some great points from the latest
Wasting Time at Work Survey - the survey that sounds goofy, but is surprisingly relevant. This time, it's important to see what the survey says about
why the respondents said they wasted time.
Which do you think is the major reason for wasting time according to the survey?
a. They don't have enough challenging work
b. They are underpaid
c. Their hours are too long
d. They don't have enough work to do
What do you think? All of these items make up the top four reasons, so you should know them all. Notice that none of them are that their personal internet use is urgent. They are actively wasting time. The items are listed in reverse alphabetical order again. The percentages of respondents saying d = 17.7, c = 13.9, b = 11.8, and a = 11.1.
Notice how it is important to get a lot right to get the productivity you want. If workers are bored (answers a and d), they waste time. If they are working long hours, they waste time. If they believe they are not getting paid enough, they waste time.
Lesson learned: Spend plenty of time determining the correct amount of resources in your planning phase. If you have to work with a given number of resources, schedule carefully not to overwork those resources to avoid drops in productivity.
Also useful: There have been previous Eye on the Workforce blog entries that deal with problems caused by bored workers, who bring down productivity of other workers in additional ways. Check those entries out.
Posted on: December 01, 2008 11:44 PM |
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Comments (1)
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Interesting survey results - sounds true.
You know members of staff will never admit that they are wasting time, even if they are really wasting time that is for them to know and they do get away with it!. Longer breaks, couple of hours lunch, chatting with colleages about football, discussing office politics and so on.
The major reasons according to the survey:
a. They don't have enough challenging work - my answer to this organisations must deploy internal resources first before embarking on external recruitment; more training to grow internal skill sets and competencies to enable staff to apply for other jobs within the organisation.
b. They are underpaid - this is a tricky one it can be challenged via ones Manager in the first instance.
c. Their hours are too long - Lifestyle comes into play too, in fact it is important that a balance is achieved; personal contracts is becoming the norm - don't sign it if hours are too long; it is a fair to say that we all do the extra mile the difference and the worrying factor is when your employers expect you to work longer and longer hours - revisit your agreement with the company.
d. They don't have enough work to do - this is just as bad as working longer hours - it will demorolise staff and impact on their confidence; will loose sight of the importance of their job role. It needs to be addressed with HR and Management as in many cases this be seen as constructive dismissal.
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