The Real Reasons Nothing Gets Done Where You Work
How many offices have internet blocks? Or tattler software that lets 'Big Brother" know that you have been on Facebook or shopping sites while you are on the clock? Oddly enough those sites only take about four minutes of the average workers time. Still the average worker will waste about an hour and 9 minutes of productivity everyday. What is the leading cause of this wasted time economy?
Waiting on Other People: That is the number one reason most people say they don't get things done around the office. The waiting on that one guy to get to the meeting. Waiting on the boss to wrap up a phone call. Waiting on another department to deliver the information you need to continue your job. We are our own worst enemies.
IT and Computer Problems: This is another major productivity killer. Since most of us are not tech savvy we have to wait on "the computer guy" to come set us straight. There is usually only one of him and about seven or eight of us with problems so we sit and wait.
Personal Business: The occasional phone call from home or a spouse is not that big of a time waster. Replying to personal e-mails and reading personal e-mails takes a lot more out of the work day than phone calls do. That is because unless someone is looking over your shoulder they can't tell whether that typing your doing is legit or for fun.
Doing Work That Isn't Used: We have all worked on those projects before. We dedicate hours of energy and research, prepare a report only to find it has been tossed away like a bad ham sandwich. Unnecessary or work that is not used is one of the biggest wastes of any companies time. This includes conference calls and meetings that not only take time out of the work day but bring productivity to a stand still when calls and meetings are poorly organized.
Do you have any other suggestions on why we never seem to be able to get anything done around the office? I bet your company has some creative ways to waste time just like ours does. Regardless we all seem to be able to crank out enough work to keep the wolf away from the door and wheels of America's economy in motion.