From the "The Internet is destroying your enterprise" files: An article in The Wall Street Journal yesterday outlined the dastardly destruction that video-watching employees are causing in the workplace, reporting that some companies have gone as far as to ban online video. But, while online video can definitely be a bit of a time suck, it may be the more serious productivity eater is the ubiquitous instant message.
For many enterprises, the instant message -- or IM as the cool cats call it -- has largely replaced, or become supplemental to, the phone and email as a professional method of communication. And unlike the disdained act of video watching, which is generally a temporary activity, IMing often occurs over the entire course of a typical eight-hour workday.
An informal poll of a sampling of the young crowd (the whippersnappers, if you will) in my workplace, who are required (by unwritten company law!) to remain on IM during work hours, revealed that the majority spend at least 50 percent of their workdays using IM for work-related purposes and 10 to 20 percent using IM for non-work-related purposes.
While it seems a bit of an exaggeration to say that my coworkers spend nearly 70 percent of their days within the confines of an 8x7 IM box (I measured...), the clear point here is that IM is a very intrusive technology. However, when asked what the consequences and/or benefits would be if IM were banned in the workplace, the same majority said they would get less work done.
"This is a new-world workplace," says Dr. Claire Simmers, associate professor at Saint Joseph's University's Erivan K. Haub School of Business. "People entering the workplace are adept at multitasking, and we even believe that is a positive skill... Of course there are people who abuse, but we should be more focused on outcomes -- is the work done and is it satisfactory or exceeding expectations?"
But while IMing may be a quick, effective way to communicate in the new world of work -- which often eliminates the need for phone, email, or, even worse... face-to-face communication (some people are just gruesome looking, yeah?) -- staying signed on instant messenger all day can be extremly disruptive, particularly when your gal pals jump in every 3 nanoseconds to detail the tribulations of their latest eyebrow waxings, or your coworker needs sympathy for his post-lunch acid reflux.
It is undeniable that -- despite the benefits -- a perpetual blinking box popping up on, or lurking at the bottom of, your screen is disruptive to one's workflow. And while we may adhere to this idea that IM enhances our productivity across the board, it may just be that, in being hypnotized by the ways of the new work world, we have no clue how productive we can actually be.
That's a great post-for me IM is a great problem:)It is so seductive and a total timer-sinking.I might have a lot of stuff to do, but sometimes,if I start a chat with somebody I just can't stop.So I created my own methods of self-regulation,actually it is very simple.
I canceled the autumatic download of Instant messanger on the start of my laptop-and you know -it helps:)Now I start it only when I really have time to chat.:)
Is it really more efficient to wait for Interruptive Messaging like the telephone than to see an icon blinking that someone is wanting to find out something important?
Answering whether IM is good or bad seems to be the wrong question. Maybe the right one is, what bad thing happens when this employee has IM enabled?
Is IM a genuine threat to network security? Productivity? Efficiency? Perhaps in some cases yes, but certainly not all, both in terms of individually, and corporately.
In my humble opinion (IMHO) I am far more interrupted by a ringing phone with a call coming from a non work related entity (forwarded from the switchboard) than having an IM pop up from someone who does not need to be bothering me at this time.
I agree that if it is an all day chat with a girlfriend when you are supposed to be mopping the floor is a bad match.
But staying accessible and in touch with colleagues with a quick message seems far more efficient than even running down the hall to find out if they are there and if they read your email message or if they got your voice mail.
In my opinion IM, in a public network, during office hours probably does more harm than good. And maybe not just office hours, anytime you are trying to focus on doing some work - be it school, work or something personal - there's always the blinking window that "helps" you take a break.
In my previous job, the company had a simple intranet IM, where you could only talk to people in the company (and they even had workgroups). It provided the benefits of being able to communicate, send, receive something fast from any co-worker without the added distraction of doing the same with some external friends.
I know it's impossible to be productive 100% of the time. I've read a few papers where they say that the best employees can only be productive around 70% of their time! adding the IM certainly gives us more opportunities to "take breaks" - unnecessary break most of the time.
There are a few exceptional employees that use IM as a true working tool, no distractions. But even they must agree that they are the very low minority. And I must finally add this counter-argument in that everyone will find something else to do if they don't want to work, let it be IM, browsing, videos, sudokus, coffee, etc.
It's something in the culture of each individual that even if you have a TV with DVD in front of you are willing to put it aside and still the work done.
I'm totally agree with you on the topic. All you've said reminded me of some companies back in Russia, my homecountry, who imposed fines on the workers who used sites not related to work during business hours. At first I was surprised not seeing my friend on-line, then she told me her salary was cut for this reason. And I doubt she will ever try that again;-)
I wouldn't agree that IM is totally disruptive for yout workflow. As if we were as productive as we can before IM was invented. People used to be distracted by some other stuff - smoking, neverending coffees, just chatting (live;-), magazines..I think it's only natural, there're really few of us who's able to be perfectly organized and 100 % productive, as we're human beings, not machines. I would also agree with guys who said I is more likely to be helpful than vice versa. And if you're busy doing your work and don't feel like answering your collegue - what's the problem, just say you're busy, or ignore that..
i have to agree that IM is more help than problem. at my first job after college, we didn't even [gasp] have email for work communication. time-management was much more difficult because all interruptions where immediate (someone calls on the phone, walks in to your cubicle, etc.). with email and IM, i can have a conversation with someone that can easily be "paused" when i need to focus on something else for a few minutes.
i think the asynchronous, but timely, nature of email and IM communication has made my ability to communicate with co-workers much more efficient. that efficiency more than offsets the occasional personal emails and IMs i receive.
anyone who has been in the workplace for awhile has certainly experienced the non-work-related conversations that simple trips to the coffee pot, bathroom, or water cooler can hatch. IM is just another avenue for this type of interruption.
if the organization's focus is on results, then managers can focus on those and employees can focus on those. this makes it much easier to identify and correct anyone not meeting goals because they are IMing too much, playing video games, sleeping under the desk, or just daydreaming.
It would be nice if the world worked in the way you describe but the reality is that a large component of any given workforce will require supervision ("control," to use your term). Not just the younger employees, either.
There is a relatively easy solution to reap the benefits of IM (especially important in a multinational organization such as the one I work for) without many of its drawbacks (personal messages interfering with your work): a company-wide, closed IM system. Lotus Sametime comes to mind, even though I am antagonistic to all that is Lotus, but there are other solutions out there as well that are cheap and easy to implement.
The ThinkerNet does not reflect the views of TechWeb. The ThinkerNet is an informal means of communication to members and visitors of the Internet Evolution site. Individual authors are chosen by Internet Evolution to blog. Neither Internet Evolution nor TechWeb assume responsibility for comments, claims, or opinions made by authors and ThinkerNet bloggers. They are no substitute for your own research and should not be relied upon for trading or any other purpose.
We're live on IE Radio with Naomi Baron, author of Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World, and professor of linguistics and language at American University.
Hey, IE Radio fans! We hope you're ready for another exciting interview. Today we're welcoming Naomi Baron, author of Always On: Language in an Online and Mobile World, and professor of linguistics and language at American University. Baron is joining us at 2:00 p.m. ET.
The Internet is making us stupid. No wait, the Internet is making us smart. Multi-tasking helps us consume more information... orrrr it reduces the amount of knowledge we can retain.
The Web has become the preferred spot for documenting personal flaws. With every online confession, Web users are crafting their detailed autobiographies and setting them free for the public's consuming pleasure.
Earlier this week, Facebook made a big fuss over the fact that it has allegedly registered its 500 millionth user. In an effort to celebrate, we here at Internet Evolution called for your Facebook Horror Stories. Hoo boy, was this going to be fun!
Getting to Work on Smart Work: How IT Is Transforming the Implementation of the 'Internet of Things' Organizations in all industry sectors are becoming more instrumented, interconnected, and intelligent -- and that's changing the way they approach virtually every facet of their operations. It's up to IT to help organizations adopt a "Three I's" approach that leverages the emerging Internet of Things and enables them to work smarter. READ THIS eBOOK
your weekly update of news, analysis, and
opinion from Internet Evolution - FREE! REGISTER HERE
Wanted! Site Moderators Internet Evolution is looking for a handful of readers to help moderate the message boards on our site – as well as engaging in high-IQ conversation with the industry mavens on our thinkerNet blogosphere. The job comes with various perks, bags of kudos, and GIANT bragging rights. Interested?
To save this item to your list of favorite Internet Evolution content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
Saunders is wrong on Hulu, Fritz thinks. By most measures it's been
a success, and there's no reason this model won't become even bigger in the next three years. Oh, and he hates Steve's hat.
When Reiter gets incensed over incompetent Verizon FiOS order-taking and support, he broadcasts it via Twitter. Did it do any good? How should your company offer Twitter support? Watch this for all the answers.
Evidence shows that you can tweet too much. Sites and services like Twitter and Facebook are a good place to reach your audience, but think quality over quantity.
As enterprises leap into the Web 2.0 world of blogging, commenting, and social networking, just 'being there' won't deliver ROI. You may want a 'Web Evangelist' to systematically harvest the feedback in order to polish your product or service.
More companies are trolling social networks to find and vet potential job candidates. Beware the pitfalls of blurring the line between personal and professional lives.
There's a public-policy war on copyright that nobody is winning, and inconsistencies in viewpoint and interpretation seem to be multiplying. We need to step back and think our policies over again, or we risk having a strategy that fails everyone.
Ultraviolet is an industry-wide attempt to standardize video content delivery across multiple platforms. Apart from the fact that it’s based in the cloud, relies on the DRM system, and isn’t backed by Apple… it sounds great!
The FCC's Sixth Broadband Report has a hidden secret. But here’s a hint: The regulatory body plans to regulate broadband as a telecommunications service.
Once defined by epic journeys, planning, and maps, the phrase "on the road" takes on new meaning in a digital age, where we can make all our decisions using our connected devices en route.
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Email This
TWEET THIS
