How much time is your business losing?

According to recent researched commissioned by Samsung Electronics into small businesses, workers are losing 5.5 office hours a week due to office irritations. As we all know, time is money so what is it that is costing your staff and your business over 5 hours a week?

Unsurprisingly in at the top spot are crashing computers and slow internet, not far behind is no access to e-mails. But, we can’t just blame technology, there are many human culprits too with moaning co-workers and noisy eaters also fairing highly in hindering our daily work routines.

It is easy to see how what may seem a small distraction can add up over the working week, after all what do we do whilst we wait for our PCs to reboot, or simply to stop ourselves saying something we shouldn’t to a co-worker?  Put the kettle on of course and take a few minutes to de-stress and imagine we are far far away.

Distraction of social media?

The time lost accounted for in the research doesn’t include the time where employees distract themselves or are, more accurately perhaps, distracted by some form of social media. So I would wager that the amount of time in fact lost each week is higher than 5.5 hours (perhaps getting pretty close to a full working day).

So what can be done? Well, in terms of technology ensuring your equipment is properly maintained and providing your staff with appropriate training may be a practical step to take to seek to minimise disruptions. However, with technology developing rapidly and more and more business being conducted solely electronically, you must be wary of cybercrime and scam e-mails. You should ensure you have appropriate internet usage policies in place and train your staff with regards cyber threats. Ensuring good security and backup systems in place would also be advisable.

Managing staff welfare

In terms of plain old human irritations, unfortunately these will inevitably arise in any work place. However, what may seem like small irritations should not go ignored. These little stresses add up and may start to impact your staff’s wellbeing and in turn their productivity. Staff welfare is important and businesses need to keep an eye on this. This may be done through a formal review or appraisal system or in a less formal way. Managing staff welfare and issues as they arise may prevent more serious consequences later, such as staff leaving as they are unhappy in the working environment or perhaps being signed off on sick leave.

At this time of year individuals and businesses alike look towards the next 12 months considering what they might bring, so consider this year what time you are losing and what can be done about it. If you require any advice or assistance then please do not hesitate to get in touch.