Workers Distracted by Email and Phone Calls suffer a fall in IQ…

…More than Twice that found in Marijuana Smokers!

These are the conclusions of a 2005 study funded by Hewlett Packard and conducted by the University of London Institute of Psychiatry. It also sets the stage for this month’s topic on multitasking. Many leaders today pride themselves in being able to multitask, in some cases the more multi- the better. They also expect their teams to be able to multitask falsely believing it to be a sign of efficiency. In fact, it is quite the opposite of the truth. (click here to continue reading)

While it is true the brain can simultaneously manage multiple tasks like controlling your heartbeat while you listen to music, leaders are most focused on is the ability to pay attention to multiple tasks and do them well. In this scenario the brain is working in a sequential fashion. No matter it appears someone is doing multiple activities at one time, the brain is really task-switching one after the other very fast. In truth, the more we ask the brain to do at any given time the less our ability to pay attention any of those activities. The most visible examples of this phenomenon are driving and performing other activities at the same time (talking on the phone, texting, applying make-up etc.) drawing attention to the serious safety issues.

But what of workplace productivity? Is it such a big deal that we try to do many things simultaneously? In a practical sense, when we interrupt what we are currently focused on to take a call on our smart-phone or respond to an email on our computer, the brain has to shift gears to provide new focus on a new topic. This means quickly shifting our subconscious rule sets for to determine how we handle this new task. When we are finished answering/responding to the interruption, we shift again and once more re-establish focus on the original activity (how often do we say “Where was I?”) Unless you have well-established working memory, this can result in a complete restart of the original task. A University of California study found it took office workers 25 minutes on average to return to their original tasks after being interrupted by phone calls and emails. How many times are you interrupted in a day? Do you set aside blocks of time during your most productive time of the day to work on your high priority work? What happens to productivity when you lose nearly a half hour every time you are interrupted? In 2007 it was estimated extreme multitasking and information overload annually costs the U.S. economy $650 Billion in lost productivity.

Another important question for leaders is how many times a day are they the interruption? Leaders espouse the benefits of productivity and efficiency, but are they aware of how many times they are interrupting their teams and staffs for low priority reasons? Are they creating a climate of poor productivity due to their own challenges with time management and productivity? In my experience, the best way to answer these questions is to take two weeks and track what you and your staff are doing with their time. If you notice they are doing something different every 15 minutes it is a sure sign they are trying to multitask and may be struggling to focus on more important things. How are the most productive staff members managing their time? In every opportunity I had to conduct these time-use studies with my teams we created improvement programs that more than paid for themselves in increased productivity!

The idea behind this topic is not that we don’t have the ability to do multiple things at one time (Millennials will debate they can do this all day long!). It is whether we can produce desired results by doing multiple things at one time. To achieve your desired results, are you relying on employees who are less productive than marijuana smokers?

Lead Well!