Five Office Time Wasters and What to do About Them

Business owners ourselves, we understand that employees don’t spend every second of the day working. And while it’s natural for staff members to need the occasional snack or cigarette break, allowing your employees to waste too much time can result in diminished performance. In the end, you may even find that profits take a nosedive due to poor productivity on the part of your team.

Here are five of the most common office time wasters as well as tips for turning them around:

1. Distracting Environment

In a busy office environment, distractions are bound to occur. From talkative employees to ringing telephones, it can be difficult to filter out the background noise and concentrate on work. Fortunately, employers can take steps to minimize distractions and improve overall productivity. Along with encouraging workers to take nonbusiness calls outside, companies should endeavor to avoid unscheduled meetings and other interruptions. In extreme circumstances, you may even want to hand out noise-cancelling headphones to help staff members focus during the day.

2. Prioritization Problems

Don’t know where to start on that stack of work? Prioritization issues can make it difficult to get anything done, resulting in hours of wasted time on the part of your staff. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure workers are managing their time effectively. From helping staff members prioritize tasks to reassigning work as needed, it’s important that you stay organized to ensure everything gets done. Don’t be afraid to drop less-important assignments from the schedule – you can always come back to them when time permits!

3. Too Many Meetings

Does your office spend more time talking about work than actually doing it? If so, an overabundance of meetings may be to blame. As an employer, you should limit the amount of time workers spend sitting around a conference table. If a meeting is necessary, take care to invite only essential personnel and stick to a strict agenda. Let your workers concentrate on what matters – getting the job done – and see productivity rates soar.

4. Technology Woes

These days, technology is a fact of life for almost every industry. And while it may seem obvious that you should keep your tech equipment in good working order, many companies underestimate the effect that bandwidth woes can have on the workplace. Not only can a slow Internet connection impede your ability to connect with clients, but it may also lead employees to seek out other distractions while they wait for that email to come through. By upgrading your tech system, you can carry your company into the 21^st century while cutting back on wasted time in the workplace.

5. Bored Workers

Of course, it doesn’t matter how quiet and connected your office is if employees are uninterested in their daily tasks. Bored workers are much more likely to seek out time-wasting activities such as browsing the Internet or chatting with co-workers. As an employer, it’s your job to identify workers who seem less than challenged and invite them to take on new responsibilities in the future.

Find More Tips for Business Success

At Here’s Help Staffing in Middletown, we serve all your Hudson Valley staffing needs from finding top workers to maximizing employee performance and productivity. Check out our staffing blog for more great tips and then call us to start your candidate search. We look forward to hearing from you.