Whether you are someone who is charge of a particular project or you are simply the person who is looking to make sure that things stay efficient and timely, you will find that you need to be wise to the ways that people pretend that they are working!
Check out this list of the top ways that people will waste their time while at work.
1.Checking their email
The problem with checking their email is that it can look a lot like checking up on work correspondence. You will find, however, that even if your company doesn’t allow chat programs, that email can work in much the same way. This is a hard one to catch, unless they are using an email client that is not the common one that is used by your company.
2.Writing and drawing
There are a lot of employees who will spend their time writing or drawing on the clock. In many ways, this is just like pretending to take notes when in high school. Unless you can specifically spot what they are working on, you will find that this is used by people who are looking to look busy.
3.Toys
There are plenty of toys that seem fairly innocuous until you realize how much time they are taking off. When used properly, a few minutes playing with a toy can mean that your employee is getting a quick mental break while they are working on a problem, but in the wrong hands, it can be used by someone to slack off for literally hours! Even paper clips and pens can become toys to someone who is avoiding work, so keep an eye out for odd office sculptures.
4.Lots of windows
If your office allows web surfing, watch out for the person who is always minimizing windows when you walk by. With th advent of tabbed browsing, it has become even easier to hide pages of recreational material. You will find that the titles of the tabs aren’t even necessarily accurate, as with the right downloads, the labels of the tabs can be changed to something much more work-oriented.
5.Constant trips to the water cooler/break room
One way that people will pretend that they are doing work is that they will take excessive quick breaks. These breaks are not on the clock, and you will find that they can chew up a lot more time that you might think. Knowing something about the traffic patterns of your employees can go a long way towards preventing this.
6.Chatting with other co-workers
Sometimes co-workers need to talk to figure out what is going with various projects and concerns, this is to assist them in work. But other times it is just socializing, a more organized and casual way to avoid work. This can eat up a lot of the day, and you may even find that one employee is instigating the entire exchange and the other employee just can’t figure out how to tell them to leave!
7.Smoke breaks
These can actually be a lot more constant than you might think. This time can be time spent off the clock. Often employees take advantage of this privilege, abusing it to help procrastinate their work.
If you’ve noticed these patterns among your employees, you’re probably asking yourself how to get them to stop wasting company time…
The best and most effective strategy is casually telling your employees to work. Make it conversational, yet stern. Ask them how their report is doing, or about a current client. This lets your employee know that you realize they’re procrastinating. Done so in a way that is respectful and casual.
If your efforts have not resulted a change in their habit, and they continue to waste time…then you must talk to them face-to-face about the issue. In private, discuss the matter and be stern. Be reaosnable and explain to them why it is a problem. Following the discussion if he or she sill does not get their act together then it’s time to let your employee go. He or she has made it clear to you by their actions that they do not value their job.Your business deserves someone who cares about what they do.
You may also enjoy reading 10 Things Really Amazing Bosses Do.