PULSE POINTS
Smartphones are Killing
Our Productivity
DO YOU HEAR IT? That buzz from your phone innocently
lying on your desk? How many times a day do you hear that
buzz? Can a device that does so much for us (communication,
banking, health tracking, etc.), really be causing so much harm?
The answer is a resounding yes.
Since our cell phones allow us to multitask more than ever,
just hearing the buzz of our phone can interrupt our thought
process long enough to consider all the tasks we perform on our
phone. That one buzz can make us think of reminder lists, paying
a bill, making an online purchase, checking your calendar, or even
liking a post on Facebook.
According to recent online CareerBuilder research, which
included a representative sample of 2,186 hiring managers and
human resource professionals and 3,031 full time, U.S. workers in
the private sector across industries and company sizes, more than
8 in 10 workers (83 percent) have smartphones, and 82 percent
of those with smartphones keep them within eye contact at work.
And while only 10 percent of those with smartphones say it’s
decreasing their productivity at work, 2 in 3 (66 percent) say they
use it (at least) several times a day while working.
16
PULSE
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June 2017
“While we need to be connected to devices for work, we’re
also a click away from alluring distractions from our personal lives
like social media and various other apps,” said Rosemary Haefner,
chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. “The connectivity
conundrum isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it needs to be
managed.”
The key to managing smartphone and social media use isn’t
blocking certain websites or banning the use of cell phones in the
workplace. Your employees also want to feel trusted and be given
the freedom to do their work without Big Brother watching over
them.
Haefner suggests having an open dialogue with employees
about tech distractions. Acknowledge their existence and discuss
challenges and solutions to keep productivity up.
Oh, and maybe switch the phone to “do not disturb” to put
the buzzes at bay.
WANT TO KNOW
what else is
distracting your employees? Click here to
access a chart of CareerBuilder’s most
interesting findings.