While the average worker spends about 45 hours each week on the job, workers admit that 17 of those hours are unproductive. The reasons? Meetings, problems with software, lack of communication and just plain procrastination top the list that workers offered for their compromised productivity in the recent Microsoft Office Personal Productivity Challenge.
Over 38,000 people in 200 countries were surveyed on their individual productivity via responses to 18 statements about their own work practices; results were tallied both internationally and for U.S. respondents-only. The results: workers, in general, feel that they’re not being as productive as they could be and in some instances they’re blaming a lack of proper tools on their lack of productivity.
Dr. Larry Baker, an associate professor at Shorter College and developer of the survey’s questions noted that the results “confirm those trends and highlight the opportunity for workers to get better training and tips on how to get the most out of software tools they use.”
Aside from software tools, though, other solutions, including ergonomics concepts and tools, can be implemented in the workplace to help improve worker productivity. For instance, something as simple as changing the size of a font on a computer screen can make work easier and thus improve productivity for a worker with failing eyesight. Modifications to a hand tool can permit a worker to use the tool for longer periods of time without stopping to rest. Even work shifts can be arranged to better accommodate a worker’s productive hours and create an overall better fit between job and worker.
Want to learn more about how ergonomics directly affects worker productivity? Read The Ergonomics ReportTM, available exclusively on-line for subscribers at www.ergonomicsreport.com.
Sources: eChannelLine Daily News; The Ergonomics ReportTM