Articles for March 2008 Help Fearful Employees Stay Productive - Economic concerns may be reducing your employees' effectiveness—
Help Fearful Employees Stay Productive Economic concerns may be reducing your employees' effectiveness—that's the conclusion of a recent survey on workplace time wasters. However, good managers can help employees stay focused on their work. In its annual survey of workplace slacking, management training and research firm Leadership IQ polled more than 9,000 workers. Respondents reported wasting 2.3 hours per an average 9.2 hour workday through activities such as surfing the Internet for career opportunities, surfing the Internet for personal finance, and thinking about negative topics. That compares to the previous year's survey, when respondents reported wasting 1.6 hours per an average 9.1 hour workday on activities such as shopping on the Internet, surfing the Internet for entertainment, and engaging in personal e-mail correspondence. Mark Murphy of Leadership IQ says, "We call this 'recession rumination.' In times of great anxiety, like an impending recession, people can get stuck in a self-reinforcing cycle where they ruminate about their anxiety—which, ironically, only increases their anxiety. And of course, this vicious cycle absolutely destroys their productivity." Murphy suggests that effective supervision by managers can reduce the amount of time wasted by employees. Survey respondents who rated their managers as highly effective reported significantly lower amounts of wasted time than other respondents did. "Effective managers can cure recession rumination," notes Murphy. "Managers who set clear expectations, respond constructively to problems, recognize accomplishments, and stimulate their people to grow will stave off wasted time. These effective managers keep people at the optimal levels of engagement and challenge. They push hard enough to keep people's minds occupied, but not so hard that people become demoralized and burned out." Source: Jennifer Silber, American Staffing Association - Back to Top -
Are employees too attached to their radios and MP3 players? An ASA member company surveyed more than 1,600 employed adults in the U.S. about their use of personal music devices, and 32% reported listening to MP3 players or similar devices while working. Earbud-wearing employees believe that tuning in pumps up their productivity — 79% of survey respondents who listen to music while working said they think it improves their job satisfaction and performance. Reem El-Khatib, American Staffing Association - Back to Top -
Republicans Return to Immigration Reform Republicans in both chambers of Congress are reviving efforts to reform the country's immigration laws. A group of Senate Republicans has introduced more than a dozen bills aimed at enforcing U.S. immigration laws and denying services to illegal immigrants in the country. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans filed a discharge petition to move the Secure America Through Verification and Enforcement Act of 2007 directly to the House floor. Provisions of the act would require employers to use E-Verify, an Internet-based employment verification system that electronically compares information on I-9 employment forms with records at the U.S. Social Security Administration and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The act would also require SSA to notify employers and employees of Social Security number mismatches and multiple uses, and to share that information with DHS. Supporters of the bill say they have 136 of the 218 signatures needed to bring the bill to the floor. Many of the bills offered in the Senate focus on work site enforcement issues. One bill would effectively end a court injunction preventing DHS from prosecuting employers that hire employees who have discrepancies with their Social Security numbers. Another bill would require employers to use the E-Verify system for their workers. Additional bills would establish laws ranging from requiring DHS to complete 700 miles of physical fencing along the southern border with Mexico to cutting off federal funds to states that issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Source: Toby Malara, American Staffing Association - Back to Top -
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