The biggest time wasters pulling your employees away from their work

Long story short: The biggest time wasters pulling your employees away from their work

March 11, 2022 11:15 AM

How can you tell if your employees are actually getting work done during work hours?

While the majority of employees say they are more productive while working from home, time away from nosy bosses and coworkers is giving employees more liberty to spend their time checking social media, looking for new jobs and even taking a nap or two. In our top stories this week, the EBN team explores the impact of social media as both a time waster and a tool HR leaders can use to recruit younger employees. We explored the changing role of social media in the workplace for our special new section, New and Noteworthy.

But not all employees are spending their time just tapping away on their phones. For women who take extended breaks from work to raise children or care for others, that time can grow into a career gap that’s hard to close. Employers should learn to rethink time away, and reframe their idea of work hours from quantity of work done, to the quality of work produced.

This week, we also wrapped up the first season of our podcast, Perk Up! Catch up on the latest episode and all of the previous installments here.

10 ways employees spent their time during the pandemic

Nearly two years since initial COVID lockdowns changed the way we work, communicate and live, we’ve adapted to new ways of doing things. It’s no longer odd to keep in touch with far-flung family, friends and coworkers with frequent Zoom calls, and our post-work routines include valuable hours that were previously spent with torturous commutes.

So what are employees doing with all that extra time? Executive editor Alyssa Place rounds up 10 common hobbies and distractions, including more time spent on social media and watching TV, to coworkers who are even sneaking in some mid-day naps.

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10 ways employees spent their time during the pandemic

TikTok is more than a workplace distraction. It’s a recruiting tool for Gen Z talent

Unlike the generations before them, who only had a select number of social platforms to choose from when entering the workforce, younger workers have seen the rise of many new and innovative services that have become part of their everyday life. For example, 20% of Gen Z employees spend an average of five hours a day on TikTok.

And with the recent launch of services like TikTok Resume — a channel that allows TikTok users to open discourse on recruiting tactics, upload a video resume and share tips — it’s clear that the labor market has not only noticed those trends, but made the decision to act on them. Associate editor Paola Peralta explores how Gen Z is using their social media savvy to find new career opportunities.

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TikTok is more than a workplace distraction. It’s a recruiting tool for Gen Z talent

Why the stigma surrounding career breaks is harmful to women

Nearly two-thirds of employees have taken a break at some point in their professional careers, according to a 2022 survey conducted by job search platform LinkedIn. And women in particular account for nearly 70% of all searches and posts related to career breaks on the platform.

But despite 50% of hiring managers believing that career breaks are becoming more common, one in five employers would decline an applicant if they had an extended gap on their resume, the survey found. Associate editor Paola Peralta discusses how the stigma around career breaks can hurt a woman’s career trajectory, and how employers can look beyond these gaps.

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Why the stigma surrounding career breaks is harmful to women

How managers can effectively address resignations while retaining their current talent

Employees are spending a lot of time looking for new career opportunities, but while many HR leaders and managers are working to offer the right mix of compensation, benefits and flexibility that will retain current talent, there’s no foolproof way to guarantee retention.

With nearly 40 million quits recorded in 2021 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jill Chapman, senior performance consultant at HR services company Insperity, knows managers need a plan for when resignation hits their inbox. Associate editor Deanna Cuadra chatted with Chapman on how to ease the transition for employees who quit and move forward with the team they have now.

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How managers can effectively address resignations while retaining their current talent