That’s not a statistic on the latest government pork-barrel spending spree; that’s how much American business spends on salaries for which work was expected, but not performed!
According to an extensive study by Salary.com, the average American worker admits to wasting just over two hours a day! Two HOURS!!! Those of us who work for ourselves know exactly what kind of disaster that is; according to the same report American HR directors budget for nearly an hour of wasted time per employee in every workday!
Get OUT!!!
And…they’re behind the curve because while they budget for an hour of lost time per day, they suspect 1.6 and as we’ve just learned, the reality is more than 2!
To employers: WAKE UP!
To employees: WAKE UP!
True, some of this wasted time is no fault of the employee. Just over a third of wasted time is chalked up to a lack of work. No fault? Who is responsible for your personal success?
Excuse number 2 is “underpaid for amount of work.” I’m going to put this in print and I want you to honestly see if this makes sense: “I’m underpaid for the amount of work I do, so my response is to work less.” When is the last time your boss called you into the office and said, “I really appreciate the time you’re wasting here, I really think you deserve a promotion!”?
It does look stupid in print, doesn’t it?
So I’m laying all the blame on the employee, right? Not so fast. Are your employees motivated by the potential for opportunity and advancement? Do you tap into the power of your workforce through creative challenges and incentives for increased productivity? Do you provide the training and opportunity for increased performance and advancement so your employees don’t have to look outside for these resources?
The fault lies on both sides of the line. Ultimately, however, I will place the majority of the burden on the individual. If you’re an employee, your voice is but one of many and your needs and desires are second to that of the organization. You may not own the company; but you CAN and SHOULD own your job!
Your current job may not hold the ultimate key to your personal vision of success and happiness; but I guarantee how you perform your current job will either unlock new opportunities or close the door to those opportunities, maybe forever.
Imagine going into your next job review with personal data showing a 20% increase in productivity? This is possible whether you’re the janitor or the district manager. According to the information on Salary.com, this can be accomplished by spending only another 24 minutes in focused effort each day.
The only person ultimately responsible for your personal success will be brushing his or her teeth in your bathroom mirror tomorrow morning; take a good look in that mirror!
Employees: Want to learn how to create your personal vision of success and use your current job to help you realize that vision? Read Dynamic Components of Personal Power.
Employers: Want to recover an average of $2,000 per year per employee in lost time? Call me!
$759 Billion Wasted Each Year! - To learn more about this author, visit Jim Bouchard's Website.
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