Some days, work is the easy part – it’s dealing with everyone (your coworkers) and everything (the broken printer) else that makes getting things done seem impossible. Training and development company InsideOut Development released a survey on the phenomenon of workplace interference – meaning all the people and things on the job that impede progress.
A majority (60%) of employees deal with some sort of interference on a daily basis that prevents them from doing their best work.
Internal interference
Sometimes the interference is in your head. Here are the top four causes of internal interference:
External interference
This kind of noise is more of your organization’s fault, and new processes may be needed to bring order if there’s too much of it. Have you ever been trapped in meetings all day? You may be familiar with some of the items of this list.
Consequences of interference
With tenure comes obstacles: 40% of employees said the longer they’ve worked somewhere, the more interference they deal with.
And 35% of employees say interference has made them consider quitting.
Managers can help – or harm
Full-time workers cited their managers as 38% of the problem behind doing their best job.
However, employees recognized that managers can help them be more productive by helping reduce workplace interference. Employees responded that the most useful things they could do were:
- Treat employees equally: 57%
- Provide opportunities for growth: 52%
- Jump in and help when things are rough: 49%
- Coach employees to solve problems: 41%
Of course, the ball is in the managers’ court.
Here’s to working together – and to a saner workplace. One that bans back-to-back meetings, piled-on responsibilities, and general chaos.
Originally published on The Ladders.
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