Where’s the best place to get any work done? Hopefully, all of your employees would answer that question by saying the office.
As a matter of fact, though, company offices can sometimes be the worst place for staff to get things done all because of the various distractions that could be taking their attention away from their work.
Even if your office is as quiet as it can be, there could still be some things that your employees find completely distracting.
Here are some of the most common office distractions and what you can do about them.
Office Gossip
Whenever you bring people together for long periods of time, there are bound to be some gossip and cliques. If you visit any office in this country, you will find that there are rumours and gossip circulating – it’s just part of life for humans.
We’re naturally nosey beings. Unfortunately, all of that chatter could restrict your employees’ productivity. There are some ways around this, though.
First of all, stress that respect is important. If your employees respect one another, they are less likely to gossip.Being transparent in all your communications can also cut down on rumours.
Smartphones
These days, we all have our own smartphones, and there is a good chance your employees will keep theirs with them on their desk throughout the day.
Think your staff are all procrastinating by checking their Facebook and Twitter accounts on their phones? If so, you could encourage them to turn on the ‘do not disturb’ mode when they are working at their desks.
This way, they won’t hear or see any push notifications so won’t be tempted to take a look at their phones.
External Noise
There are lots of noises that can be heard in offices that can be quite distracting. One of the main ones is traffic from the street. To get around this, you should keep all the windows closed as much as possible.
It’s also worth installing some low noise hand dryers into your office bathrooms as well, as loud ones can usually be heard in the adjacent rooms.
If you have an office kitchen, make sure there is a door between it and the office space, so that the kettle and chatting colleagues don’t annoy anyone who is trying to get their work done.
Mess And Clutter
If your office is quite messy at the minute, it might be time for a spring clean. Not only will this improve the overall aesthetic and make it look a lot more professional to any visiting clients, but it can decrease distractions.
Your employees won’t have to spend so much time going through all of the clutter to look for important items and paperwork. Plus, they won’t have to spend so much time cleaning up as everything will already be neat and tidy.
As you can see, not all office distractions are that obvious. Thankfully, they are all quite easy to reduce or get rid of completely. You just need the above tips!
