Anyone who works in an Internet-connected office knows that managing time at work can be a major challenge. And the leading culprit is personal use of technology.There's Twitter over here. Facebook over there. That hilarious new viral video on YouTube. Not to mention the Reddit rabbit hole. Then email and text messaging.
One in four people confessed that they spend at least one hour a day on personal calls, emails or texts while on the clock. One in five said they spent at least one hour every day visiting non-work related websites.
But sometimes, an employees worst enemy when it comes to productivity is another employee.
According to a new study from CareerBuilder, 24 percent of employees list “noisy co-workers” as the number one obstacle to productivity. Another 23 percent say coworkers stopping by each others work spaces are to blame.
Office work is challenging. So we formed a list of the top 10 productivity killers at work and offered a solution to some of them.
1. Cell Phone and texting (50%)
Yeah. we're all people, and different things happen, but you go to work in order to earn money and not talk about that new coat you bought with your friend.
Solution: tell your friends and family to calltext you only with urgent reasons.
2. Gossiping (42%)
A little talk is fine, we all need to distract from work from time to time, but long-term gossip is no good for productivity.
Solution: sit in a designated quiet area or simply or put a sign on your desk saying you need some alone time.
3. The Internet (39%)
It is impossible to work without Internet nowadays. But it is also a massive distraction.
Solution: set a time when you let yourself distract from work. Let's say you can spend 15 minutes on checking your personal email, online-shopping, etc. 4 times a day. This way you will spend only 1 hour a day using Internet for personal reasons.
4. Social Media (38%)
Just like the web, social media opened a lot of opportunities for business and private life. But a lot of employees misuse this opportunity at work.
Solution: set a limit on social media usage at work and stick to it.
5. Snack or Smoke breaks (27%)
Snack breaks are dangerous not only because you risk putting on weight from overeating, smoke or snack breaks eat your time!
You come to the kitchen to make tea or just to have a quick snack and your co-workers are discussing something very interesting and funny. You start interacting, the time passes and work is waiting.
Solution: Breaks are important but train your will. Don't take part in every discussion. Nothing will happen if you miss a couple jokes.
6. Noisy co-workers (24%)
Every office has them. They might be laughing loudly or talking loudly, or doing something else really loudly.
Solution: don't be afraid to ask politely that you need some time to concentrate. Communication is key.
7. Meetings (23%)
What? Really? Since when were meetings unproductive?!
They are unproductive, if arranged to often for no valuable reason.
Solution: speak to your manager or if you are the one to organize them, insure not to have too many and clear goals and expectations set.
8. Email (23%)
Lots of you may not notice how distracting email is. No matter if it's personal or corporate. However, personal email is a lot more distracting.
Solution: don't answer an email right away just because it pops up. Set a time when you look through your email box and answer some of them. Developing a routine is important.
9. Co-workers dropping by (23%)
Why do co-workers drop by? Probably because they're bored or have nothing to do, so they decide to go around and look for someone to talk to.
Solution: if you work in a separate room, put a “Do not disturb” sign on the door. If not, simply explain that you are busy.
10. Co-workers putting calls on speaker (10%)
It's ok if it is an important call and everybody in the room should hear it. For any other reason, there's no need to put it on speaker.
Solution: try to put your headphones on and listen to music or ask your colleague politely to turn off the speaker.
