The roller-coaster day I had today will be remembered for years to come. What I’m finding to be more the norm rather than the exception, are people who first of all, don’t listen, and others who wait until something absolutely HAS TO be done before they complete a task.
I think part of this growing problem is the interferences of social media and multi-tasking. We do indeed live in the age where we are surrounded by cell phones ringing, smart phones bleeping, and all the other music and noise we have allowed to enter our workspaces. It seems no matter where I go, or what I do, there is someone plugged into an IPod, playing with their smart phone, or surfing the internet. It is no wonder, why the productivity levels are dropping in workplaces that allow workers access to media. I’ve asked many people in the past, “How can you concentrate when you are being distracted?” The answer is normally cryptic and highly debatable. I don’t even attempt to “go there” upon hearing such ridiculous answers. Another by-product of this new form of work, is that the self-starting mechanism in the brain is being suppressed by what it believes is already work, when in fact it’s busy with outside interference. We are then left with workers who are turning themselves into kick starters. The numbers are growing of those who have to have someone else encouraging them to get their jobs completed in a timely manner.
Time management is something most middle management employees use to justify their positions within their respective corporations. What I see as the problem with this, is they are setting themselves up as taskmasters and not teachers. Employees must be taught to take ownership of their times on the job. Long ago, I worked for a corporation where time was a critical element in performing the workload well. I found in time, it was best to set strict rules about wasting time as well as giving them small rewards and big thanks whenever the work was completed and the group as a whole worked seamlessly together. In time, the group created their own high standards with little outside supervision.
I’m convinced our workplaces can change for the better as long as we have managers who are not afraid of reprimanding those who give their jobs only their half best, and reward those who truly show effort by giving their 100% in their job functions.
All I can say, is for us all to remain open minded and work at fixing the problems in the workplace.
