Boosting Employee Productivity By Reducing Distractions And Stress
At a time when many employers are keeping employee headcounts to the bare minimum, the importance of productivity has never been greater. Streamlining is good, but it can be a grave mistake to assume productivity will increase when you spread the same workload over fewer employees. That is, unless you also confront long-standing impediments to productivity that will only be exacerbated when payroll is cut to the bone. Those obstacles: the interrelated challenges of employee distraction and stress. Practical solutions exist, but require management to have a fix on the problem, then to make to make it a priority to put them to use.
The first step is simply to come to grips with the cost of employee distraction. It isn't just the diversion of workers' time, but, frequently, the "depletion of employees' psychic energy," according to Geraldine Markel, Ph.D., an educational psychologist who specializes in education and performance and is a leading authority on workplace distraction.
Based on her observations while working with businesses, she believes few employers truly understand the impact of employee distraction. That's why she has seen such a scarcity of clear policies and procedures designed to attack the problem.
According to Markel's own research, she concluded that "a worker's mind wanders about one-third of the workday." Much of that is triggered by interruptions. A one-minute interruption can cost an employee several minutes to get back on track with the original task, depending on the degree of concentration required. And that loss of productive work multiplied by the number of employees can be devastating to the employer's bottom line.
Demons of Distraction
Markel has presented help for employers in her book, "Defeating the Demons of Distraction," where she identifies nine categories of distractions that are common.
Here are four such categories where she says employers can do much to help minimize the demons of distraction.
Technology: "It invites you to get lost in a maze of texting, chatting, surfing, and gaming long after the time spent is appropriate or useful."
Others: This includes bosses, coworkers and family members "who believe you should be available 24/7."
Activities: This demon "attacks you when you inappropriately multitask, rush or face tedious, difficult tasks.
Stress: This energy and concentration-draining distraction "is activated by internal or external triggers, or a combination of both." It is particularly harmful when employees are unconscious of their stress levels. That lack of awareness makes them even more prone to mistakes and bad decisions.
Frequently, the work-based distraction of stress stems from the fact that business owners and supervisors themselves are running fast in many directions. In battling their own distractions and multi-tasking challenges, Markel says, they often neglect to give the employees they supervise specific enough guidance on their priorities. "When employees are uncertain about their goals, they become distracted. It's hard for them to focus" in general, let alone on uncertain priorities.
Polling Employees Sets the Stage
Before employers try to tackle the distractions they assume are present, by implementing policies and procedures, Markel suggests an alternative. Instead, raise awareness of possible distractions and how extensive those distractions are, by surveying employees. Employers can start the process by having employees ask themselves questions like these:
Am I bothered by constant, irritating distractions?
Are distractions making me inattentive, forgetful, disorganized, stressed out?
How much more could I accomplish if I wasn't so distracted?
How do distractions effect my ability to do my best work? Do they keep me from fulfilling the roles and responsibilities of my job?
Raising awareness of distraction and measuring the extent of the problem are good starting points. Beyond that, when you ask questions like those above, you convey a reassuring message to employees that you want to take steps to tackle the problem.
As a consultant to business clients, the problems she is most often asked to address are the distracting demons of technology and of stress. That may mean tackling the issue from multiple angles, such as, creating realistic performance expectations, employee wellness programs and other actions employees may need to initiate independently.
Policies to minimize technology distractions, particularly e-mail, can be as simple as having employees limit their e-mail contact lists to the bare minimum, and discouraging employees from responding to e-mails that do not require a specific, timely answer. Most tactics are common sense; the important thing is to formalize your guidance by putting it in writing. This also gives employees permission to protect themselves from the needless distraction of e-mails that don't need attention.
For the full article, click Here.
At HR&P we know what drives your company. We have built a reputation on providing exceptional customer service and administrative solutions that help companies improve productivity and profitability. Please give us a call at 281.880.6525 or visit us HERE and we will be happy to talk to you.
The first step is simply to come to grips with the cost of employee distraction. It isn't just the diversion of workers' time, but, frequently, the "depletion of employees' psychic energy," according to Geraldine Markel, Ph.D., an educational psychologist who specializes in education and performance and is a leading authority on workplace distraction.
Based on her observations while working with businesses, she believes few employers truly understand the impact of employee distraction. That's why she has seen such a scarcity of clear policies and procedures designed to attack the problem.
According to Markel's own research, she concluded that "a worker's mind wanders about one-third of the workday." Much of that is triggered by interruptions. A one-minute interruption can cost an employee several minutes to get back on track with the original task, depending on the degree of concentration required. And that loss of productive work multiplied by the number of employees can be devastating to the employer's bottom line.
Demons of Distraction
Markel has presented help for employers in her book, "Defeating the Demons of Distraction," where she identifies nine categories of distractions that are common.
Here are four such categories where she says employers can do much to help minimize the demons of distraction.
Technology: "It invites you to get lost in a maze of texting, chatting, surfing, and gaming long after the time spent is appropriate or useful."
Others: This includes bosses, coworkers and family members "who believe you should be available 24/7."
Activities: This demon "attacks you when you inappropriately multitask, rush or face tedious, difficult tasks.
Stress: This energy and concentration-draining distraction "is activated by internal or external triggers, or a combination of both." It is particularly harmful when employees are unconscious of their stress levels. That lack of awareness makes them even more prone to mistakes and bad decisions.
Frequently, the work-based distraction of stress stems from the fact that business owners and supervisors themselves are running fast in many directions. In battling their own distractions and multi-tasking challenges, Markel says, they often neglect to give the employees they supervise specific enough guidance on their priorities. "When employees are uncertain about their goals, they become distracted. It's hard for them to focus" in general, let alone on uncertain priorities.
Polling Employees Sets the Stage
Before employers try to tackle the distractions they assume are present, by implementing policies and procedures, Markel suggests an alternative. Instead, raise awareness of possible distractions and how extensive those distractions are, by surveying employees. Employers can start the process by having employees ask themselves questions like these:
Am I bothered by constant, irritating distractions?
Are distractions making me inattentive, forgetful, disorganized, stressed out?
How much more could I accomplish if I wasn't so distracted?
How do distractions effect my ability to do my best work? Do they keep me from fulfilling the roles and responsibilities of my job?
Raising awareness of distraction and measuring the extent of the problem are good starting points. Beyond that, when you ask questions like those above, you convey a reassuring message to employees that you want to take steps to tackle the problem.
As a consultant to business clients, the problems she is most often asked to address are the distracting demons of technology and of stress. That may mean tackling the issue from multiple angles, such as, creating realistic performance expectations, employee wellness programs and other actions employees may need to initiate independently.
Policies to minimize technology distractions, particularly e-mail, can be as simple as having employees limit their e-mail contact lists to the bare minimum, and discouraging employees from responding to e-mails that do not require a specific, timely answer. Most tactics are common sense; the important thing is to formalize your guidance by putting it in writing. This also gives employees permission to protect themselves from the needless distraction of e-mails that don't need attention.
For the full article, click Here.
At HR&P we know what drives your company. We have built a reputation on providing exceptional customer service and administrative solutions that help companies improve productivity and profitability. Please give us a call at 281.880.6525 or visit us HERE and we will be happy to talk to you.
