Offices may be places full of constant activity and interactions. However, this vibrant environment may also be a seedbed for workplace disruptions that impede productivity and elevate employee stress.
These disturbances are becoming increasingly difficult to prevent as the popularity of open workspaces grows. In this piece, we’ll discuss five of the most typical workplace disruptions and ways to deal with them.
Table of contents
Defining Workplace Disruptions
Events and behaviors disrupt the workplace, interrupting our attention and distracting us from our primary tasks. Workplace disruptions range from minor annoyances to big-time wasters, distracting us from what we must do.
Workplace disruptions can take many forms and have a variety of repercussions on the workplace. It is critical to notice and manage these interruptions to maintain a productive and harmonious workplace.
Disruption vs Diversion
Workplace disruptions can take many forms, including interruptions and unanticipated incidents. Continuous phone calls, unplanned meetings, and colleague chat requests can disrupt employees‘ workflows and concentration.
This is a disruption when an outside force or event intentionally disrupts you. Familiar sources of disruption include coworkers wanting assistance, pressing projects, or personal concerns that require quick attention.
On the other hand, an internal reaction creates a diversion that draws us away from the task at hand. Distractions include:
- Noisy coworkers.
- An overloaded work schedule.
- An inward desire to escape work by checking on social media.
While external sources can manage distractions by learning to ignore the brain’s attraction to them or by making other choices like turning off notifications or even locking the door, imposing disruptions on employees, and are more difficult to control.
Distractions and disturbances can divert employee attention and make it challenging to stay on task. They may even contribute to increased stress and work dissatisfaction.
Influence of Disruption over Productivity
Aside from the transient annoyance of having their workflow stopped, workplace disruptions have significant repercussions. According to research, frequent pauses lead to a considerable loss in employee productivity. According to recent studies:
- The average worker is interrupted 15 times per hour, which equates to an interruption every four minutes.
- 40% of knowledge workers need help finding a consistent 30-minute interval during the day to focus.
- Colleague interruptions cost the average worker five hours of productive time every week.
- Regardless of how critical or urgent the disruption was, it takes 23 minutes for a worker to refocus on their work after being interrupted.
All this time spent dealing with interruptions and not working can lead to substantial delays, missed deadlines, poor-quality work, and increased stress. Furthermore, the negative consequences of workplace disruptions might affect more than just individual employees. When one person’s productivity suffers, it can have a knock-on effect on the entire team or business.
5 Typical Workplace Disruptions and The Measures to Deal with Them
Organizations must realize the consequences of workplace disruptions and take proactive actions to reduce their recurrence. Companies may improve employee productivity, job happiness, and overall success by managing interruptions and providing a supportive work environment.
The following are five of the most typical workplace disruptions and remedies.
1. Disruption from Coworkers
Interruptions from well-meaning coworkers are a significant source of workplace disturbance. Organizational success is accomplished by team collaboration and teamwork. Frequent interruptions from emails, phone calls, collaboration tools, or a brief knock on the cubicle indirectly affect call center productivity.
Solution:
To avoid disruption in productivity, you should limit interruptions from coworkers. Offer employees the means to set and maintain clear boundaries on their availability.
Encourage employees to schedule regular “quiet hours” during which they can focus on their work and are unavailable to their coworkers. It’s a good idea to allow employees to block off time on their calendars so that other employees can’t book meetings or contact them during certain hours.
You can also establish company-wide quiet hours (for example, Thursday afternoons) when all employees know they can work without interruptions. It will enable employees’ performance tracking with increased call centre productivity.
2. Disruptions Caused by Technology
Technology can be helpful and harmful, allowing us to work and collaborate in several ways while causing numerous disruptions. Constant email notifications and alerts can easily disrupt processes if employees do not have a method to block out some of the noise during the day.
Solution:
Encourage employees to turn off notifications from apps and other technologies while working so they are not interrupted. Some phones and apps will activate a “do not disturb” mode based on the user’s preset hours or calendar events.
They may also adjust notifications to ensure they only receive critical ones. Employees can even turn them off entirely to view updates only when they actively look at email, social media, or project management tools.
They should set aside time to check emails daily and limit their access during the rest of the day. This will add to increased call center productivity.
3. Unplanned Conferences and Meetings
An unexpected meeting or event can upset schedules and derail an employee’s day. It is critical to distinguish between those that must be attended to and those that can be handled by email.
While unscheduled conferences may occur due to emergencies or unforeseen circumstances, businesses should provide employees with as much advance notice as possible for company-wide meetings or announcements.
Solution:
Establish explicit meeting criteria, such as when they can be planned and what is required to host a meeting, such as a clear agenda with deliverables.
Give employees adequate time to prepare for meetings, placing them on calendars at least a few days in advance so that employees may plan their work around them.
4. Physical Disturbances
Construction or repair work frequently disrupts the workplace because offices are physical spaces that require upkeep. These disruptions might occur due to restricted access or changes to the office environment, such as lighting or temperature, that make it challenging to work in.
Employees may be required to relocate to a different area of the workplace during construction, which may interrupt their routines beyond the day of relocation.
Solution:
Ensure staff are well-prepared for any physical changes to the workplace and plan for any necessary accommodations ahead of time. If your company has no flexible work policy, these situations are a solid reason to create one.
Allow employees who can work from home or other locations, and equip them with the required tools. This will also be helpful in emergencies like the COVID-19 epidemic, which forced staff to work from home for several months.
Employers with work-from-home agreements could continue operations without interruption, while others scrambled to bring their staff back to work.
5. Personal Issues
Employee personal life disruptions may be challenging to forecast, as emergencies might occur without warning.
Taking care of family members or emotional concerns, particularly children, is a crucial aspect of life, and employees cannot leave their personal lives at work.
Additionally, employees may become unwell and require time away from work to recover.
Solution:
Make explicit policies about taking personal time away from work so that employees can do so with minimal disturbance. Employees can benefit from flexible work arrangements and personal leave time to address difficulties as they emerge.
It would help if you also had leadership teams develop clear plans for delegating work to other teams or employees in the event of an employee experiencing an emergency so that they can cover the work. That way, no one will be left wondering who is accountable.
Conclusion – Detect and Eliminate Workplace Disruptions.
With Lepamax’s workforce analytics, you may gain insight into what interferes with employee productivity. Employee monitoring tools determine whether any employees are experiencing disruptions in their productivity.
Learn whether technology aids or inhibits employee productivity. You can make policy decisions on employee productivity with the help of time-tracking software. The time tracking software includes when and where employees are most productive and when they may be distracted.
Get a quick demo of Leapmax. Learn how employee monitoring software can assist you in identifying and overcoming workplace disruptions at your firm.
