Since I work at home most of the time, I have to fight the urge to goof off, do non-work related things, or waste time checking my emails, Facebook or Twitter accounts to see what’s going on. Working alone without any supervisor to keep me in line, I can wander around the house, grab a snack or put on my walking clothes and disappear for an hour for a couple of laps around the park.
While this may sound like heaven to some of you who are tied to a desk with your boss watching your every move, it is a dilemma most freelancers face. Do I write those three articles that are due tomorrow, or should I catch up on the latest episode of “House” (one of my personal favorites)? If the traditionally employed show up and work their shift, their evil boss will still hand them a paycheck at the end of the week. No such deal for entrepreneurs. No work, no pay. Goofing off is a costly diversion.
While a little goofing off on the job may not cost you a lot, it costs the company in lost productivity. Years ago, email was the main time waster. It was a new, exciting toy. A new message used to announce itself with a little cyber voice, “You’ve Got Mail” and a bell chime. Can you imagine the racket if we still heard that announcement with every email and text message! Now, the main time wasters are Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and Yahoo. We can’t wait to see the latest Facebook post about what our sister’s husband’s nephew had for breakfast or who just got connected to whom on LinkedIn. It’s just a few keystrokes, a click and a quick glance, but it can add up to five hours of wasted work time per week! Multiply that by an employee’s hourly rate and the lost time and money is shocking.
Why are so many employees at work wasting time checking mundane and mindless information on so many social media sites, especially when using company computers for personal use is on the “immediate termination list?” A recent article, “Wasting Time at Work 2012,” gave the top five reasons:
- Not Challenged
- Long Hours
- No Incentive
- Unsatisfied
- Bored
You can take all the above and roll them into one, big “I don’t care!” There’s been a disconnect over the past years in the workplace. The company loyalty our parents (or grandparents) experienced is now filled with indifference and boredom. We have Blackberries, Smartphones, and all the apps 4G or better can handle. We’ve got IPads (1,2,3??) ITouch, IPods, MP3’s and a host of other digital balls and chains that keep us tethered to the boring job after hours. “Long hours” has taken on a whole new meaning, since we’re connected to the workplace 24/7. I heard a frightening statistic today that 58% of people confessed to sleeping with their Blackberries or SmartPhones!
I don’t know what will make work more exciting than finding a bargain on Ebay or following Kim Kardashian on Twitter. I don’t think more digital toys will do it. The company that can make work relevant, challenging, satisfying and defy boredom will draw talent like a magnet. Connecting a company’s mission and success to achieving employee personal goals may be the answer. It’s the old WIIFM—What’s In It For Me—cyber style. The answer to that question is the answer to restoring relevance and excitement to the workplace.
Why do you drift to social media sites or your email while at work? Do you agree with the article’s list? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.
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