Sixty-nine percent of employees report wasting at least a half hour of time per workday. Another 21 percent report wasting at least some time each week. The other valiant, hard working 10 percent who report that they never waste time? They’re lying through their teeth.
Okay, I made that last part up. But I fully believe it. I’ve worked in everything from fast food to pharma and I’ve never met a person who wastes absolutely no time at work. Yes, there are occasional days where you are heads down all day, or in retail where the line of customers never, ever slows down. But to report that you never waste time? I don’t buy it.
To keep reading, click here: What your employees are doing when you think they are working
I find idle time when I am waiting for something or someone. I submitted a request for a report or I have not been given the go-ahead to publish that last memo or patients have not arrived and I am all caught up. I do spend considerable time working ahead of schedule but this sometimes has diminishing returns. If a schedule were to make a last minute change then all the work may be for no benefit. So yes I check personal e-mail or read a professional journal. But I do not surf Facebook and personal chatter is pretty minimal as I am a bit of an introvert. At what point would EHR Lady believe the idle time were excessive? In a former life when I was more in charge, I used to review internet use logs. If there was complaining of the work load, this was shown as exhibit “A” for quit your belly-aching and get back to work.
I’ll stop goofing off at work when I start getting paid for the weekends I have to spend going out of the country or at trade shows and when I start getting paid for the 16-hour flights I have to make. In coach. In the middle seat.
I think all employees, at any level need a little bit of down time because I don’t know anyone at all that can say they are work focused at all times during work. Taking a few minutes to visit with coworkers or visit on a personal level with your boss or taking care of a personal phone call is not a big deal. When an employee cannot take a 5 minute break without feeling odd about it that can cause a person to have resentment towards work and decrease the overall productivity.