Being multitasking, for example, is a ‘skill’ that is highly valued in organizations because it is misunderstood that a person with this apparent competence can do several things at the same time and accomplish everything in a certain period of time, but in reality comes to subtract 40% of labor productivity, says the expert.
Clelia García, director of the clinical area at Terapify, explains that a multitasking person must be understood and assumed as a professional who knows how to prioritize and organize to be efficient, without this leading to a state of chronic stress, anxiety or burnout. “She knows, above all, how to set limits for his well-being,” she says.
But the double-edged sword is procrastination. Contrary to multitasking, procrastinating is postponing or delaying tasks. In her workshop “The fine art of becoming an asshole”, Sandra Fleindl defines it as acting in a hidden way with the intention of not being involved in the effort necessary to achieve the goals.
Yes, it is convenient to take breaks at work, says García, but consciously. This helps people get distracted and get back to their activities more clearly. But break times vary by person, so five minutes may be helpful for some, not so much for others. Coffee talk and 20-minute break blocks are also functional and necessary.
“Anyone who thinks that a person can work eight hours straight, be more productive and not get stressed is very wrong,” emphasizes Fleindl. “Of course you have to have breaks, but if the person is already avoiding doing their work through procrastination, then something is not working.”
Procrastinating generates instant well-being, with serious repercussions in the future. Every day, Dr. Clelia listens to professionals who don’t know where to start, after they left several pending on the waiting list.
“There is no date that does not arrive nor a deadline that is not met. The problem with procrastinating is when those dates are met and the person already has many delays that add stress, anxiety and anguish. It is the consequence of chronic procrastination ”, he points out.
Graciela Martínez, a specialist in occupational hygiene certified by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (STPS), assures that an employee who chronically procrastinates tends to decrease up to 80% of their productivity.
Delivery delays, an indication of bad leadership?
For the experts consulted, procrastination is also a reflection of bad leadership and a gap in the country’s labor system. On the one hand, motivation at work concerns the collaborator and the leader, whose responsibility, more than giving orders and only asking for results, is to guide people, support them and be a facilitator.
“The biggest challenge that companies have is to keep people motivated. A demotivated employee tends to procrastinate and leads to a silent resignation, but he also seeks new purposes and at some point he does not hesitate to leave the organization, ”says Martínez.
The silent resignation or quiet quitting It refers to the fact that the employee does only what is required at work, without giving more. The report 2022 State of the Global Workplace Gallup’s survey shows that only 21% of employees are engaged at work and 70% of team disengagement is determined by the leader.
“You don’t become an asshole by accident. Procrastination occurs because something is not pleasant for the person, and toxic leadership as an influential factor to procrastinate is added to the lack of motivation, mood, health, anxiety, workloads, distractors such as social networks. social and even habits”, details Fleindl.
How to turn around procrastination?
The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime, according to consultancy McKinsey & Company. Not surprisingly, job satisfaction or dissatisfaction impacts you significantly.
The specialists consulted advise companies not to skimp when it comes to investing in people. Today, eight out of 10 people expect employers to promote training programs or help them keep their skills up to date, according to Manpower Group data.
“That employees learn tools that help them to be more efficient, to stay focused, to organize their work, to know themselves and to have an agile mentality can make a big difference. However, leaders should not overlook the fact that people learn in different ways, are more productive in different ways, and that productivity is not synonymous with hours worked,” warns Martínez.
Today, Mexico is the country where you work the longest hours in the world. A person works 2,124 hours per year, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). By contrast, Germany is in 38th place, with 1,363 hours worked per person and is much more productive than Mexico, despite its vast working hours.