News Release (WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- According to a new study by Leadership IQ, workers waste 25% of their workday, and that number is up 44% over last year. The study also discovered that the biggest reason for this increase in wasted time can be traced to “Recession Rumination.”
Leadership IQ conducts an annual survey of workplace slacking, and 6,447 workers completed both the February 2007 and February 2008 surveys. In February 2007 these workers reported wasting 1.6 hours per an average 9.1 hour workday. But in February 2008, these same workers reported wasting 2.3 hours per an average 9.2 hour workday, an increase of 44%.
The biggest time wasters for respondents? In February 2007, the Top 5 timewasters were the typical culprits…
Surfing the Internet for Shopping (17% of respondents)
Surfing the Internet for Entertainment (15%)
Surfing the Internet for Personal E-Mail (10%)
Chatting with Co-Workers (9%)
Daydreaming about Positive Topics (9%)
But in February 2008, the Top 5 timewasters were quite different and clearly influenced by fears about a potential recession…
Surfing the Internet for Career Improvement (21% of respondents)
Surfing the Internet for Personal Finance (17%)
Daydreaming about Negative Topics (12%)
Chatting with Co-Workers (9%)
Surfing the Internet for Entertainment (7%)
Mark Murphy, Chairman of Leadership IQ, has a name for this phenomenon. “We call this Recession Rumination,” he says. “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.”
Fortunately, there is a cure for Recession Rumination. Survey respondents answered questions about their workplace, including their manager’s effectiveness, workload, and job satisfaction. Workers that rated their managers as highly effective reported significantly lower amounts of wasted time than others. The survey questions that most significantly predicted managerial effectiveness included…
If I shared my work problems with my direct boss, I know that he/she would respond constructively.
I know exactly what actions I should undertake to fulfill the organization’s strategy & vision.
My direct boss recognizes my accomplishments.
My direct boss pushes me to expand my skills and knowledge.
“Effective managers can cure Recession Rumination,” notes Murphy. “Managers that 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.”
Finally, Recession Rumination is not affecting all groups equally. Workers between the ages of 41-50 experienced the most significant time wasting increase (62%) over the past year, even though their overall wasted time was lower than some other groups (2.1 hours per day).
About the survey
Leadership IQ surveyed over 9,000 employees across all job levels during February of 2007. Then in February of 2008, Leadership IQ approached these same employees and again asked for their participation in the survey. In total, 6,447 employees completed both the 2007 and 2008 surveys. The surveys were delivered to Leadership IQ subscribers and their responses were submitted electronically. Leadership IQ statisticians reviewed the data for accuracy and consistency and analyzed the valid submissions.
About Leadership IQ
Leadership IQ trains companies how to motivate their workforce. Leadership IQ directs one of the largest leadership studies ever conducted, and our work has appeared in Fortune, Forbes, Business Week, the Harvard Management Update, CBS News, ABC’s 20/20, and many more. We’ve trained tens of thousands of leaders from across the Fortune 500, healthcare, midsize-large companies, and government organizations. Leadership IQ is headquartered in Washington, DC.
