Tuning Out the Noise: What’s Distracting Workers and Efforts to Reclaim the Workday
Disorganization and Online Distractions Top the List
Latest Results from The Harris Poll
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PITTSBURGH, PA, July 10, 2023—Barrages of meetings, emails and online distractions eat away at workforce productivity, and the majority of U.S. employers say they are working to eliminate time wasters to help employees feel more in control of their time.
This is according to a recent survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.
Nearly 7 in 10 U.S. hiring managers (68%) report their company is actively identifying and/or eliminating “time wasters” (i.e., behaviors, obligations, and other aspects that may waste time in a workday) from their employees’ days. Companies doing so report the most common items they are identifying/eliminating include disorganization (44%), online distractions (44%), unnecessary tasks (such as approval processes and reporting) (42%), interruptions (39%) and unnecessary meetings (38%).
By eliminating some of the “time wasters” in a workday, employees may be able to feel more in control of their time.
A strong majority of hiring managers (87%) say their company has taken actions to ensure employees feel more in control. Communicating the importance of work/life balance (42%), offering flexible work hours (42%), offering remote work options (34%) and providing tools to help employees organize tasks/projects (34%) are among the ways companies are attempting to help employees reclaim their time.
Employed Americans concur, as more than 9 in 10 (94%) say companies should take steps to help employees feel more in control. In their opinion, this includes offering flexible work hours (63%), remote work options (51%) and communicating the importance of work/life balance (50%).
“Hire people, not their resume. Hiring for a culture fit is about bringing employees into the company whose values align with your organization”, said Miko Bailey, Director of Sales and Training, Express Employment Professionals Pittsburgh West.
“Cultural fit is a perspective that may be hard to define, but everyone knows when it’s missing. Onboarding employees that add to your company’s beliefs, behavior, and principles is critical. Discussing your company's culture from the beginning allows the candidate to understand what they can expect as an employee, so they can make a well-versed decision on whether to accept the job offer. Skipping this process may lead to wasted time, money lost, a revolving door and unproductive staff”.
Today’s workforce has so many factors fighting for its attention that it makes sense to implement tactics to increase focus and productivity; but it must be done mindfully, according to Express Employment International CEO Bill Stoller.
“Successful companies are ones where employees are engaged and feel valued,” he said. “Once that foundation is in place, these workers will buy into a culture of efficiency because they believe in a higher purpose for their employment.”
Survey Methodology
The Job Insights survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, 2022, among 1,002 U.S. hiring decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in the U.S. who are employed full-time or self-employed, work at companies with more than one employee, and have full/significant involvement in hiring decisions at their company). Data were weighted where necessary by company size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 3.2 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.
The omnibus survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals from Dec. 13-15, 2022, among 2,041 adults ages 18 and older. Data are weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income and propensity to be online, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 2.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.
If you would like to arrange for an interview with Deb Gray, owner of Express Employment Professionals Pittsburgh West, please call 412.494.2000.
About Express Employment Professionals At Express Employment Professionals, we’re in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, employing 579,000 people globally in 2022 and more than 10 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com.
About Express Employment Professionals Pittsburgh West
Express Pittsburgh West is celebrating our 16th anniversary. We have two local offices: 6200 Steubenville Pike, Robinson Township, PA, serving the Allegheny County West area and 699 Pennsylvania Avenue, Monaca, PA, serving Beaver County. Local businesses and applicants are encouraged to stop by either office, visit our website or call 412.494.2000.
About Bill Stoller
William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment
International. Founded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the international staffing franchisor
supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and related brands. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
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