Information Addiction Is Killing Workplace Productivity

Yesterday, as I sat in my car waiting for a stoplight to turn from red to green, I watched a road crew worker who stood on the corner waiting for the rest of his crew to begin a job.

As he waited, he pulled out his phone. He appeared to check his email or some type of message through the phone, and then he cocked his head to the side and shuffled around a bit, as though aggravated by what he’d read. Then, a minute later, he began punching things into his phone. When finished, he put the phone in his pocket and walked around in circles again, clearly agitated, which brought me to this thought: How often does social media interfere with our moods during the workday, and what is that doing to our performance?

Answer: Often, and crushing it.

Think of it: You fight with your spouse over breakfast. You leave for work, outraged. Your email beeps as you wait at the stoplight; you read the message and grow angrier. When you pull into work, you respond. You get to your desk and the phone beeps, signaling another email received; you read it, get even angrier, and respond. You head to the coffeemaker, pour a cup of coffee, and by the time you get back to your desk you’ve received a third email that frustrates you. You’ve been at work only ten minutes, and during this time have been all consumed in a fight that happened over an hour ago – and you’re so consumed you can’t come down to begin the day.

This may be why a study conducted by Robert Half Technology showed that 54 percent of U.S. companies report banning employees from using sites like Twitter and Facebook during work time. And if you think that your competency at work is not related to status updates on Facebook during work hours, another study by Nucleus Research showed productivity dropped when companies let employees use Facebook while at work. 

Not so long ago, quarrels and personal lives could be left at home. What happened during personal time stayed on personal time, for the most part, because you couldn’t constantly check updates and status reports and texts and emails from friends and family. Today we can check in on a constant basis through technology such as social media sites like Facebook, text messaging, cell phones, and email. Something that happened last night becomes all encompassing today because we can continually bring it up while we are at work which will, of course, affect our work.

Judith Orloff, author of the book Emotional Freedom, writes, “We’re in the Age of Impatience. We’re addicted to technology and instant gratification.” She goes on to say, “And we can’t sit still without our smartphone, iPad, iPod, and laptop flashing and beeping new messages to us every few seconds.” 

So how do we stop this addictive act of constantly checking in when it’s so easy to do?

First, turn it off. Easier said than done, I know, but if you are on work time you shouldn’t be checking or writing status updates on Facebook or texting friends about what you are doing after work. This doesn’t mean you have to go all day without your technological check-ins: just reserve them for lunch and break times, when you aren’t supposed to be working. 

Avoid conflicts while at the workplace. If you had a fight with a friend or spouse last night, refrain from shooting off an email or reading an email or text from that person while at work. Doing so will bring up the anger again, which will interfere with what it is you are supposed to be doing while on the job. Not only does this hurt the company, but it hurts your performance and ability, and it never gives you a break from the conflict so you can clear your mind and look at it from another perspective later on. 

Handle conflicts in person, not through social media. Sarah Hathorn, CEO of Illustra Consulting, says that conflict should always be addressed in person and not through email. “This way you can hear the other person’s voice to understand how the message has been construed.”