How to reduce distractions at work
From individuals to the overall office ecosystem, several factors can kill productivity
First, the facts. An average office employee works for only 15 minutes before becoming distracted. More than 53 percent people waste about an hour or more a day because of disruptions.
I am sure none of these come as a surprise to you. We all experience it. We may not be able to time the “waste hours” every day, but know intuitively that distractions are increasing our stress levels and making us less productive.
At an individual level, there are a few things which cause distractions:
The advocates of open offices claim those promote collaboration and team work. I have a different view. The spontaneous collaboration facilitated by open offices makes individuals switch between tasks frequently. As many studies will support, it makes one less productive and takes up more energy and time to concentrate back on the task at hand. There are several studies and research that also show that people’s productivity, their relationships with co-workers and their performance have actually dropped because of open offices. Many of us are able to concentrate better when there is a feeling of privacy.
Everyone would agree here. “Let’s have a meeting to discuss this”—these are probably the words that are most dreaded by employees. Unplanned discussions lead to wastage of time. Such discussions usually don’t have fixed agendas, follow the fixed schedule and end with concrete action. The salary costs of unnecessary meetings are in billions. Meetings are undoubtedly important but those can be the biggest productivity killers if they are unnecessary, unfocussed and go on for a long time.
We may not realise it but cafeterias tend to get very crowded during common breaks and a lot of employees end up waiting to have tea/coffee served or even get a place to sit. The waiting time is usually spent in chatting with colleagues or browsing through social networking sites on phone. “It’s a good break”, you might hear some say. But this is actually an unnecessary break, which may not even give the feeling of relaxation.
All these are probably part of the office life and culture. Does this mean we have to live with these? Probably not. There are a few ways to handle these distractions more effectively and create a mindful enterprise.