We hear a lot recently about the benefits of remote working for businesses, mainly due to remote workers avoiding many of the common workplace distractions. For companies who still require the majority of their workforce to work together from a shared office, here are a handful of the most costly culprits that hinder productivity.
The 5 Deadly Workplace Distractions
1. Smartphones.
A combination of constant messages, notifications for emails and social media and incoming calls make Smartphones the number one distractor of all. Then there’s the hours your employees spend each day scrolling through their Instagram, Facebook or other social media feeds… Encourage employees to turn their notification sounds off and you’ll be surprised by how much more productive your entire team’s workday is! Another alternative is to request your team switch their phones to silent (without or without vibrate) to help eliminate distractions from the office and create a workplace where employees can stay focused on tasks.
2. Background noise.
If you struggle with a high volume of background noise in your office, consider investing in a few pairs of noise-canceling headphones for employees who need to shut the noise out and concentrate on demanding tasks.
3. Emails.
If your team use Outlook email and have their notifications on, it’s challenging not to respond immediately to emails when you see them slide onto your screen. Discuss with your team whether it may be less distracting to turn notifications off and instead schedule the time to review emails every couple of hours.
4. People.
In an open plan office, it’s all-too-easy and welcoming to approach employees at any time during the day when you have a question. Consider whether it may be better to implement cubicles to decrease such interruptions.
5. Meetings.
Organize structured meetings with a concise agenda so that your meetings are more time efficient.
What do you find are the biggest distractions in your workspace? Tweet me @lorenridinger.
