‘Slackers’ may actually be more productive, study says
April 23, 2009 by Sam NarisiPosted in: Communication, Employee computer use, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views
Everyone knows most office workers waste some time surfing the Web. But this might be a surprise: Those slackers might actually get more done than everyone else.
That’s the conclusion of one recent Australian study, anyway.
More than 70% of employees with Internet access spend some amount of the day on non-work activities, according to the research by the University of Melbourne. And those who waste time in moderation (for less than 20% of their total time in the office) are on average 9% more productive than those who use their computers for nothing but work.
Why is that? Because employees function better when they take short, frequent breaks, say the researchers who conducted the study. They often lose concentration and need to zone out for a few minutes to get it back.
Another possible factor: The most productive employees are the ones who have the time to surf the Internet.
Does this mean managers should let their employees waste all the time they want? Hardly, though many companies may be putting too much effort into enforcing a ban on personal computer use. Most experts recommend avoiding outright bans and instead addressing individual issues as specific performance problems.
View all the Latest StoriesTags: personal Web use, policy, productivity, slackers
April 28th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
This may not work for everyone, but here is my approach:
I try to set MBOs as part of the performance management process that include things like learning new skills — even ones that are IT-related, but may not be directly related to a particular position. As an example, I encourage my Network folks to learn Windows Server Administration, or my developers to learn networking.
Assuming we have resource capacity, I encourage my staff to research these topics, perform online training, and use non-production equipment for development and testing. This keeps them engaged, while providing a productive outlet during breaks and slow periods.
I also like to make sure that every team member in any position has a list of either group or individual “back burner” projects that they can work on in spare time. Ideally, these align with personal goals, like building a Linux desktop image, developing a group-level “status board”, setting up a Wiki, upgrading a non-critical system, etc…
Success Stories:
- Numerous employees worked their way from Help Desk to either Network or Server administration.
- A few employees promoted to leadership roles, and eventually to IT Management roles.
- Numerous “pet projects” that developed in to time saving tools, procedures, and applications.
- Employee was promoted from Help Desk to Business Analyst. This person worked with the ERP business analysts, learned the application in their spare time, and eventually got promoted.
- Employee worked on a “pet project” that became a corporate-wide standard, and this person became the Subject Matter Expert on implementing it throughout the company (with a healthy promotion and raise thrown in).
This approach can be really good during difficult economic times, when salaries may be fixed or cut, and when bonuses are scarce.
I tend to have people stay with me for 3-5 years, even though the average IT job span is less than 2 years. Many of them find that when they do leave, there are a variety of opportunities because they have diverse skillsets. I have had a few people tell me that after a layoff, they were able to find work almost immediately, because some specific skill or project on their resume put them ahead of another candidate.
The other benefit is that you never have the CEO tell you that they just came from the Help Desk, and so-and-so was surfing the net instead of working….