Managing work place distraction

Let's face it, the workplace is full of distraction. On any given day, a co-worker may come up to you while you are busy, for a quick conversation without prior notice. When that ends you get an unexpected phone call. After you take that phone call, you are asked to jump on another conference call you weren't planning for.

Next you are asked to join an impromptu meeting in someone's office that wasn't on your calendar. The workplace has long been the ultimate 'manufacturer' of distraction, maybe with good intention. Everyone wants to get things done as fast as possible with as much quality input as they can.

Some companies are beginning to shut down access to various social media sites because productivity is taking a big hit, since social media's adoption and popularity has grown.

Employers pay for late hours, social media, gossiping and shopping time, coming to office late, reading the newspapers during working hours, social networking such as Facebook, using working hours to eat and entertaining friends and relatives at office are seen in some offices today. Misusing company phones to check on domestic chores is also a common occurrence.

Managers have been found to be worse

Sometimes those occupying senior positions are even worse. They use privileges to attend to personal work during working hours.

The fact that managers have the freedom to decide and are often not required to get approval to leave office on official matters, gives them the opportunity to engage in acts that are unwarranted, draining company resources.

There are parents who entertain children at the workplace, distracting not only the parent but others as well.

Executives are also culpable of committing this offence. Such managers do not set the right example to the people below them. These managers cannot take up any disciplinary issues with subordinates. This promotes irresponsible employees and has a direct impact on productivity.

Workers who shirk responsibility and rely on other staff to pick up the slack can also damage workforce morale.

In a small business, just one irresponsible employee can create a culture of irresponsibility throughout the company, particularly if other workers see that the behaviour is condoned or worse, rewarded with promotions or plum assignments. Managers must act immediately to correct irresponsible behaviour.

Disciplining employees

The question is whether you want to treat employees as adults or children. Monitoring consists of looking at the quantity and quality of work produced and the occasional gentle rebuke if someone gets distracted, which doesn't happen often.

The most important source of productivity is job satisfaction and instituting a prison style system is not good for productivity in theory.

But the reality is that lack of policies, procedure, rules and accepted norms and without continuous reinforcement of messages for consistent compliance no organisation can get the alignment of all employees with accepted work disciplines.

I do not know of any organisation where the theory has proved to be right.

Of course there can be exceptions where an individual is paid for the pre-agreed volume and quality of work, where other things do not matter from the point of view of cost.

Leaders responsibility

Leading by example and responsible behaviour of employees should be emulated. Behavioural standards must be demonstrated from the top - if the management behaves irresponsibly, this creates the impression that that kind of irresponsible behaviour is sanctioned by the company.

Remind employees of policies and procedure they must abide by and why they should do so. Explain the impact of the employee's irresponsibility and demonstrate the detrimental effect irresponsible behaviour has on business operations.

Ask the employee to suggest ways he or she can improve behaviour. Place the onus on the employee. Develop a performance improvement plan to clearly specify the expectations for future performance and examples of acceptable behaviour.

Follow up on a regular basis or at intervals on a performance improvement plan. If the employee has failed to correct his behaviour and continues to act irresponsibly, issue severe disciplinary action including discharge from employment.