Wasted time is lost opportunity and lost money. In 2012, I shared an infographic that explained how wasted time affects workplace productivity. At the time, it was estimated that the annual payroll loss from employees spending time on tasks that were not work-related was at least $130 billion. With no significant changes made to reduce wasted time in the workplace over the past two years, it’s safe to assume that this number is much higher in 2014.
According to a new infographic from Name Badges International, nearly nine out of 10 employees admit that they waste time at work. However, like the 2012 data told us, the biggest time wasters at work are not what you might think. Yes, the internet takes up a lot of an employee’s time each day, but real work-related activities steal even more time from the day. Following is the breakdown reported in the infographic of the most common ways employees waste time at work:
- 26% – browsing the Internet during work
- 24% – too many meetings/conference calls
- 24% – dealing with annoying co-workers
- 12% – returning emails
- 7% – dealing with an annoying boss
- 4% – social media
- 2% – personal phone calls
Overall, 67% of an employee’s day is spent on work-related activities that directly reduce their productivity levels. In other words, companies have done very little (or nothing) to reduce the time drains of meetings, conference calls, coworker and supervisor distractions, and email inboxes. To put this percentage into perspective, that 67% wasted time equates to 5.36 hours of an 8 hour work day. It equates to 26.75 hours of a 5 day work week, and 1,391 hours per year for each full-time employee (assuming a 40-hour work week for 52 weeks per year).
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to turn some of that wasted time into productive time. A number of recommendations are included in the infographic below. Are you using any of these tactics to increase productivity in your company? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below.
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Time Wasting in the Workplace – An infographic by the team at www.namebadgesinternational.co.uk
- 26% – browsing the Internet during work
- 24% – too many meetings/conference calls
- 24% – dealing with annoying co-workers
- 12% – returning emails
- 7% – dealing with an annoying boss
- 4% – social media
- 2% – personal phone calls
– See more at: http://www.namebadgesinternational.co.uk/blog/2014/04/25/time-wasting-in-the-workplace-infographic-and-stats/#sthash.c125Z1rx.dpuf
- 26% – browsing the Internet during work
- 24% – too many meetings/conference calls
- 24% – dealing with annoying co-workers
- 12% – returning emails
- 7% – dealing with an annoying boss
- 4% – social media
- 2% – personal phone calls
– See more at: http://www.namebadgesinternational.co.uk/blog/2014/04/25/time-wasting-in-the-workplace-infographic-and-stats/#sthash.c125Z1rx.dpuf
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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