Famous Sad Love Quotes: Mobile phones and laptops given to workers actually DECREASE productivity

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Mobile phones and laptops given to workers actually DECREASE productivity

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By Fiona Macrae

Last updated at 4:01 PM on 4th August 2011

If you can take your eye off your mobile phone long enough to read this, you may find it informative.

The mobile phones, laptops and BlackBerrys dished out to workers up and down the country cut productivity rather than boost it, research shows.

A survey of more than 1,000 British office workers found that many are so addicted to new technology that they can't help but take phone calls, send text messages and access social networking sites when in meetings.

Distraction: A survey of British office workers found that many are so addicted to new technology that they can't help but take phone calls, send text messages and access social network sites when in meetings

For some, the lure of being constantly in touch is so strong that they will continue to takes calls and listen to messages even when told to switch off their phone or put away their laptop or iPad by their boss.

Many excuse their bad manners by saying they need to be on top of their work, without realising the constant distractions are stopping them from doing their job properly.

Software firm harmon.ie quizzed 1,140 London office workers about their mobile manners.

It found that during face-to-face meetings, 41 per cent remain glued to their gadgets, texting, listening to voice messages and checking and sending emails.

Almost one in ten post information on social networking sites such as Facebook when in work meetings.

David Lavenda, of harmon.ie, said: 'It would appear that we have a classic case of double standards in the workplace, with 82 per cent complaining about other peoples' tendencies to disrupt proceedings by answering a mobile phone, tweeting, sending an instant message, responding to emails or even just updating their social status.

'Yet, rather ironically, 70 per cent of those that rudely interrupt meetings themselves would be offended if someone did the same thing to them.

'Clearly, the perceived pressure to stay connected has led many people to neglect their manners.'

It may also be harming their prospects.

A third of those polled said it takes them 20 minutes to buckle back down to work after being distracted by a text message or email or posting on Facebook or Twitter.

More than a third said constant digital distractions make it difficult for them to get through their work and 22 per cent said they struggle to think creatively.

And problems don't go away on leaving work, with 85 per cent saying they check their work emails or phone the office at the weekend and 74 per cent staying on touch while on holiday.

Almost half surf the internet while in bed.

Mr Lavenda said: 'Thirty years ago, only doctors carried pagers - and reaching out to them after hours was only for matters of life or death.

'Yet today, communication and social tools designed to save us time in the office by making us more productive, are encroaching upon our personal lives.'

Cary Cooper, professor of organisational psychology and health at Lancaster University, said that electronic communication can easily be misinterpreted because it lacks the intonation, eye contact and body language of the face-to-face variety.

He said: 'I am not saying we should dump the technology but I do think we should manage it, rather than allow it manage us.'

Research released earlier this week revealed that 60 per cent of teenagers and more than a third of adults are 'highly addicted' to using their mobile phones.

A quarter of adults and a third of teenagers said they used mobiles during meal times and around a fifth of teenagers and adults said they use their phones where they have been told not to, such as in libraries.

Even the bathroom and toilet are no longer off limits, with 22 per cent of adults and half the teenagers polled admitting they use their phones there.