The Truth About Managing People, Third Edition

Truth 39. Watch Out for Digital Distractions

Today’s workplace is full of digital distractions. As one executive recently put it, “No one has time to do any work. They’re all too busy texting, instant messaging, e-mailing, or on their iPad’s updating their Facebook page, watching YouTube videos, shopping online, playing Angry Birds, or engaged in some other crazy time-waster.”

To quote an old comic strip, “we have met the enemy and he is us.” We’ve become addicted to technology but not necessarily in ways that enhance work performance. What was originally created to either improve work communication or meant to be used outside the workplace has now turned into a management nightmare. As one manager put it, “How do you get people to get any work ...