Careerbuilder.com recently conducted a survey to find out which challenges with employees HR managers have dealt with this year. Managers reported some pretty out-there behaviors while on the clock. Here are the 7 strangest employee behaviors the survey picked up.
Take a look at the challenges uncovered by this survey and compare them to your own!
- Employee was working on a scrapbook.
- Employee brought her equipment for her embroidery business from home and was making items for a craft show to sell.
- Employee brought in a kitten she found outside and tried to keep it quiet within a large purse.
- Employee was working on her child’s school project that included uncooked macaroni noodles.
- Employee was laying on a patient’s bed talking to the patient while the patient sat in her wheelchair.
- Employee was doing some personal grooming in the break room.
- Employee was searching on craigslist for dates.
The survey, devised by CareerBuilder and conducted by Harris Poll, received responses from 2,186 HR and hiring managers, as well as 3,031 full-time employees.
Killing Productivity
The survey received comments from over 2,100 HR and hiring managers, as well as more than 3,000 full-time employees. When asked what the biggest productivity killers are in their workplaces, the most common answers were as follows:
- The Internet: 41%
- Gossip: 39%
- Social media: 37%
- Co-workers dropping by: 27%
- Smoke/snack breaks: 27%
- Email: 26%
- Meetings: 24%
- Noisy co-workers: 20%
- Sitting in a Cubicle: 9%
Anticipating that cell phone usage would be an issue impeding employee productivity, this CareerBuilder survey set out to find exactly what it is employees are doing on their phones during working hours.
Employees’ Top 10 Responses:
- Personal messaging: 65%
- Weather: 51%
- News sites: 44%
- Games: 24%
- Shopping: 24%
- Traffic: 12%
- Gossip: 7%
- Sales: 6%
- Adult sites: 4%
- Dating sites: 3%
Dating sites?! Really?
Actions Employers are Taking to Increase Productivity
Are employers actually taking steps to shelve their employees non-work related activities? The survey revealed that 75% of employers have taken action. Here’s what the managers said they’re doing:
- Scheduling lunch and break times: 24%
- Monitoring emails and Internet usage: 19%
- Limiting meetings: 17%
- Allowing people to telecommute: 14%
- Implemented an open space layout instead of cubicles: 14%
- Restricting use of speakerphones for those not in an office: 13%
- Increasing height of cubicle walls to make it easier to concentrate: 8%
In conclusion, being aware of distractions in the workplace (that may include the strangest employee behaviors) and knowing how to limit those distractions will make for an overall more productive environment. Train your managers and supervisors. Give them the tools in the form of policies, procedures and access to coaching opportunities. Support them in their decision making efforts and assist them with the more difficult conversations until they are ready to handle these issues solely on their own.
When you take these proactive steps you will certainly Be Audit-Secure and increase productivity in your organization.
Until Next Time, Be Audit-Secure!
Lisa Smith
