The views of this article are the perspective of the author and may not be reflective of Confessions of the Professions.
Advances in technology have greatly increased the amount of information that we can process in a working day, but as those advances have occurred, our workloads have expanded. Many office workers struggle to cope with the distractions and challenges of the modern office. This informative infographic highlights some of the biggest productivity drains in modern offices, and explains how managers can boost the productivity of their employees.
Give Your Employees Freedom
Instead of micromanaging every move your employees make, give them some freedom to take occasional breaks or even use the Internet for personal reasons. An employee who takes a moment or two to recharge their mental batteries is more productive than one who spends all day working at half efficiency.
Delegating Works
Allow senior or specialized employees to delegate simple but-time-consuming tasks to junior employees so that they can put their skills to use on the jobs that can only be done by them.
Cut down on wasteful meetings, pointless emails and excessive paperwork. If your employees are spending all of their time on administration then they aren’t getting any real work done. Streamline your office workflow to boost both morale and productivity.
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How To Run A Productive And Happy Office
How productive do our employees think they are?
People work an average of 45 hours per week 17 are considered unproductive
Solutions: √ Ask Questions √ Keep communication channels open
55% of employees relate their productivity directly to their software
Solutions: √ Make sure software is suitable for both you and employees √ Makes sure adequate training is supplied (ongoing)
People spend 5.6 hours per week in meetings 69% feel meetings aren’t productive
Solutions:
√ Cut down on meetings √ Consider ‘stand up’ meetings or ‘close to lunch’ meetings
Only 34% are using proven scheduling tools and techniques to help them gain more free time and balance in their lives
Solutions:
√ Give access to tools relevant to each employee √ Give access to productivity training – 60% don’t have a work-life balance and being unproductive contributes to this feeling
Workers receive an average of 42 emails per day
Solutions:
√ Training on email productivity
The most common productivity pitfalls:
32% unclear objectives, lack of team communication, ineffective meetings 29% procrastination 31% unclear priorities
Think outside the box for improved productivity
Allow music and social networking
A 2009 study shows that when employees visit sites for personal interest, there was a 9% increase in productivity
Additional research shows this might mean employees who are: √ Healthier √ Happier √ More productive Take 10-minute breaks (Facebook)
In a recent survey by UK licensing organisations said music at work:
√ Improved the atmosphere √ Increased employee morale
77% of businesses
Learn to appreciate
69% said they’d work harder if they were better appreciated/recognised
5 things you can do to improve your productivity
√ Use to do lists √ Only attend meetings that are vital √ Only answer emails at designated times √ Prepare for the next day √ Delegate tasks that can be done by junior staff
![Great Ways To Boost Your Office Productivity [Infographic]](https://cdn.confessionsoftheprofessions.com/infographics/run-productive-happy-office-infographic.jpg)
