It’s possible that most of your employee’s are wasting time while at work. It’s not their fault, though. An open-floor office is a jungle full of distraction, and it can be hard to get anything done in a space like that.
A new survey of 2,600 hundred people found that 76 percent of people can do better work outside of the office! Flex Jobs, a job bored focused on finding employee’s remote jobs, cited that most people found the office too distracting and that interruptions from coworkers killed productivity.
It takes time to get in the zone when you begin working each day, and it takes a lot to stay in the zone. Consider working like driving on a long road trip. When you’re on the highway, you’re getting to your destination as quickly as possible. It takes time to get from your home to the highway entrance ramp, and each time a coworker pulls you away from your task, you have to get off the highway and pull into a gas station. It takes time to get back on the highway and get into driving mode.
Commuting Leads to Decrease in Productivity
Distraction and interruption isn’t the only reason that employees prefer working from home, a coffeeshop or a library. They also cited commuting as a major reason for their lack of productivity. It’s important to begin each day on the right foot. How you start your day sets the tone for everything you do that day. Many employees are starting their day in an hours worth of bumper to bumper traffic.
According to an article in TIME, the morning commute causes a rise in blood pressure, anxiety and stress. Many employees are on the edge when they arrive at work, long before they have the chance to even start interacting and being productive.
Office Politics as a Big Productivity Killer
In addition, employees cite office politics as a big productivity killer. Like the morning commute, this is a big form of stress and anxiety. It’s true, many people do thrive on a cutthroat office environment. Some find it exciting. Many people don’t find it exciting, though. In fact, many people are disengaged by the office politics game, rather than being motivated by it.
This should come as a wake up call to office managers out there. The work environment we’re used to may be outdated, and it may be time to reevaluate your companies policy on remote work. If you’re worried that some of your employees aren’t being as productive as possible, consider taking action:
What to Do Then?
Offer a Remote Work Policy
Most survey respondents cited that they’d be most productive at home. In fact, 30 percent of respondents said they’d be willing to take a 10 to 20 percent pay cut if they could telecommute. As a company, you could test that theory out. It may be quite a stretch to suddenly allow all your employees freedom, but you could give the policy a test run with a few of your trusted employees.
Create And Do Not Disturb Workspaces
This idea comes from my college library, where we had large rooms that were strictly for studying. In these rooms you weren’t allowed to talk or collaborate, you were only allowed to work on your own. This is a good option for companies that aren’t ready to offer a telecommute option, but see the need to revamp their office culture.
Make Your Office Healthy
According to the survey, health is a growing concern in the office culture. The lack of flexibility of a job means that your eating and exercising habits are at the mercy of your office. In fact, 80% of respondents think they’d be healthier if they didn’t work at an office. Not only that, but eating health foods increases brain power and productivity. Ease your employee’s minds and make them productivity machines by offering healthy snacks at the office, and possibly even an exercise break.
