Interruption And Multitasking Impact On Productivity!

We used to think that performing several tasks simultaneously (e-mail, smartphone, PDA, Web connection, and various PC's applications) makes us smarter and develops our brains. Well, that depends! If to talk about the fact that human attention has a limited capacity and the tasks surrounding us grow in number every year, than logically you'd require less and less time for each of them. Besides, do consider the fact that human brain once distracted needs at least several minutes to gain back to the issue.

Some think that the abundance of tools surrounding us makes us less effective. Remember, the tools are made to function and they won't ask you when to interfere!

What statistics says?

Researches made by the University of California showed that in average distractions comes after 11 minutes of concentration on the task. Also, it took them 25 minutes to get back to the task.

Other striking surveys showed that constant jumping between tasks temporarily lowers IQ by 10 points. That equals to a skipped night's sleep and is twice as much as smoking marijuana.

The fact is that multitasking and related interruptions cost companies an average of 2.1 hours per day of employee productivity. In other words it is a great waste of money!

The adverse of the coin

So far so good. But the problem with all this story is that employees' productivity has greatly increased since the early '90s when the high-tech accelerated (measured by the government). Further more, in the last five years the explosion of multitasking phenomenon has registered not only the increasing of productivity but a fast acceleration as well.

So the main question is: Does multitasking really make us less effective? Well, first of all in some cases it does! But this is mainly because the employees didn't combine them successfully or didn't use their functions fully. Secondly, we're citizens of a complex, fast-changing, fast-response world, in which getting a task done completely or partially in the least amount of time is still a priority.

Thus multitasking should be embraced within some limits. This will make the bottom line of any business stronger. To some extent multitasking changes relationships and attitudes towards getting the 'job done'! People become more, so to say, 'in touch' and dependent on one another. Experts affirm that this is one of the reasons why corporate IT professionals work on an average of 12 projects simultaneously.

Food for thought

Most of the studies concerning the negative impact of multitasking and interruptions on the workers productivity tend to ignore the above factors. You as a business owner can make your own survey by answering several important questions:

Do your employees seem to you smart, hard-working, and effective despite all the interruptions? then

Can a smart professional accidentally tend to use tools that help him/her get the job done?

Is your business after all making good money and growing amid with multitasking and interruptions?

If the answers to these questions satisfy you then what problem are we trying to solve?!

Of course, multitasking is very stressful but not being able to multitask is even more stressful. Just think about how you can perform your job without such tools as computer, phone, or web connection. Or how the entire company will develop if you are not interrupted by customers and colleagues regarding urgent questions.

Multitasking can confuse only those who are not able to multitask or who are not ready to adjust the multitude of surrounding devices to his/her needs!