Canadian Companies Stepping Up Efforts Against Time Wasting in the Workplace
TORONTO - June 28, 2023
- Online Distractions and Unnecessary Meetings Among Top Concerns
Canadian employers are eliminating workplace distractions and unnecessary tasks to increase workforce productivity and help employees feel more in control of their time, according to a survey from The Harris Poll commissioned by Express Employment Professionals.
Most companies (57%) report they are actively identifying and eliminating “time wasters” (i.e., behaviours, obligations and other things that waste time in a workday). The most identified and eliminated “time wasters” include online distractions (45%), disorganization (45%), unnecessary tasks such as redundant approval processes and reporting (39%) and unnecessary meetings (35%).
By eliminating “time wasters” in a workday, employees may be able to feel more in control of their time. Most companies (82%) say they have taken actions to ensure employees feel more in control. These actions include offering flexible hours (41%), communicating the importance of work/life balance (36%), offering remote work options (34%) and discouraging unnecessary meetings (28%).
The vast majority of Canadian employees agree that companies should take steps to help employees feel more in control of their time through methods like flexible work hours (68%), offering remote work options (52%), communicating the importance of work/life balance (51%) and additional paid time off (44%).
Excessive meetings and a lack of preparedness at work are two of the biggest causes of inefficiency at work according to Jessica Culo, an Express franchise owner in Edmonton, Alberta.
“Unnecessary meetings are a big waste of time at work, as well as meetings that are not run efficiently or suffer from a lack of preparedness,” said Culo. “Lack of preparedness is a big overall general contributor to inefficiencies. It’s important for employees to plan their week out, to do daily and weekly checks, especially for those who have roles where unexpected things can come up and change the course of the day or week.”
She says it’s not solely employers who are concerned with removing “time wasters,” but also employees.
“High-performing employees do not want to see teammates wasting time, as it often means they must pick up the slack and do the heavy lifting,” said Culo. “We have seen a shift with employees wanting better work/life balance—they would rather be productive while working and then, as a result, be ‘on the clock’ for fewer hours in a week.”
Culo’s advice to employers to reduce time wasters is to have clear expectations.
“Having fair, clear and transparent key performance indicators in place is critical so employees know what is expected of them and where they stand,” said Culo. “It also helps employers more clearly understand if their team members are contributing and meeting expectations.”
Today’s workforce has so many factors fighting for its attention that it makes sense to implement tactics to increase focus and productivity; but it must be done mindfully, according to Express CEO Bill Stoller.
“Successful companies are ones where employees are engaged and feel valued,” he said. “Once that foundation is in place, these workers will buy into a culture of efficiency because they believe in a higher purpose for their employment.”
Survey Methodology
The Job Insights survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15, 2022, among 506 Canadian hiring decision-makers (defined as adults ages 18+ in Canada who are employed full-time or self-employed, work at companies with more than one employee, and have full/significant involvement in hiring decisions at their company). Data were weighted where necessary by company size to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 4.6 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed population of interest.
The omnibus survey was conducted online within Canada by The Harris Poll on behalf of Express Employment Professionals from Dec. 13-15, 2022, among 1,050 adults ages 18 and older. Data are weighted where necessary by age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, education, marital status, household size, household income and propensity to be online, to bring them in line with their actual proportions in the population. Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within + 3.8 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.
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If you would like to arrange for an interview to discuss this topic, please contact Ana Curic at (613) 858-2622 or email Ana@MapleLeafStrategies.com.
About Bill Stoller
William H. "Bill" Stoller is chairman and chief executive officer of Express Employment International. Founded in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the international staffing franchisor supports the Express Employment Professionals franchise and related brands. The Express franchise brand is an industry-leading, international staffing company with franchise locations in the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
About Express Employment Professionals
At Express Employment Professionals, we’re in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, employing 579,000 people globally in 2022 and more than 10 million since its inception. For more information, visit ExpressPros.com/CA.