It’s a genuine paradox. We live in an era where humans have made so much advancement in technology that robots and other tech are replacing human workers while making work easier for other people in some industries. But employees are less productive than they were in the past because this technological advancement has also brought untold distractions that hinder productivity.
Granted, technology in itself is not the only culprit in this matter. There are several others. Let’s see what they are, and what can be done about them.
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1. You’re not getting enough sleep
Sleep deprivation is responsible for many woes and work productivity is just one of the many. According to the American Sleep Association, 35.3% of adults report less than seven hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. Why is this number significant?
The association states that adults need anywhere between seven to nine hours of sleep to function effectively. Do you manage at least seven hours of sleep every night? If you don’t, it will affect your concentration, creativity, and problem-solving skills in addition to health risks like weakened immunity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Bed experts Bed SOS add: “A recent study by the National Sleep Foundation shows that over 90% of people know that the quality of their sleep depends on their mattresses. But they regularly try to skimp on purchasing good mattresses while enduring all the consequences of a horrible one. Don’t be that person.”
Go to bed early and see all the difference it will make in your work life.
2. You detest your job
Sometimes this is not readily obvious, especially when you’re making some good money at work. But there are always signs that can tell you how much you hate your job if at all you do. Some of them include:
- Poor concentration: Sure, even though you love your job, you’ll get distracted sometimes. Loathing your job takes away energy you should use for your responsibilities at work, thus making it harder to concentrate.
- Work complaints: Are you always complaining about your coworkers, employers, and your job itself? If you are, you probably hate your job and should be looking for a new one.
- You’ve not had a raise in ages: There are conflicting studies about money and job satisfaction. But if your wage has stayed the same over the years in the midst of inflation, it’s hard to be contented and happy when your bills have increased in that time.
- You’re not excited by the prospect of going to work: Would you rather stay at home in bed all day instead of being at work? Sure, it can happen sometimes, but if you feel this way all the time, you detest your job.
I can go on and on about these reasons. The solution to this problem isn’t always so simple. For example, if you’re looking for a raise and you can prove you’ve earned it, you can ask for it. For the other signs, it’s a great idea to start seeking work elsewhere.
3. You’re easily distracted
Most times, this is a discipline problem. And you’ll see why in a jiffy. Like I mentioned earlier, technology has played its part in contributing to this menace of workplace distractions whether your work is entirely technology-based or not.
A report by Career Builder shows that 83% of employees own smartphones, and 82% of these smartphone owners keep them within eye contact at work. And they use these smartphones for many personal reasons that are not work-related ranging from reading news, sending messages, checking the weather, playing games, shopping, and even dating.
While other studies show that employees are using work internet for these activities, these ones using their smartphones probably loaded with their own data plans are the main problem. For the former, employers can take certain measures by installing some apps in the workplace computers to block access to some of these distracting sites. For the latter, admission of the problem is the first step towards solving it.
For example, the study by Career Builder showed that 65% of employees spend time sending personal messages on their phones, the highest rate for any distractions. You can curb this by setting an auto-responder on your phone while at work with apps like SMS Auto-Reply Text Message (for Android) and LilSpace (Android and iOS) to notify senders you’re at work and will reply their messages later.
Both types of phones also have “Do Not Disturb” features built into them which you can activate to silence calls and notifications until after work. It won’t be easy, but it’s certainly not impossible to enhance your productivity at work if you try these tips.
