Time Isn't On Your Side

Every plant in the world operates under the same constraint – they’ve only got 1,440 minutes in a day. Even if they’re running at full capacity, three shifts, there’s still no way a plant can negotiate past that set-in-stone 1,440-minute barrier. Not that they haven’t tried.

According to a recent poll by LifeCare, a provider of employee benefit services, the biggest barrier to productivity for a worker, by far, is not having enough time to accomplish all of his/her tasks. More than two-thirds (39%) admit to feeling “overloaded” by their work situations. The good news, if there is any, is that that’s a slight improvement on a year ago, when 40% cited lack of time as their biggest productivity issue.

Here are the other answers:

* Basic job expectations were never made clear – 12%
* Pay/rewards not appropriate – 8%
* Child care issues – 7%
* Politics/personal conflicts – 7%
* Elder care issues – 6%
* Didn't have the proper tools or equipment – 6%
* “Other” reasons (each response represented less than 1%) – including personal health issues, personal relationship issues, general stress, a long commuting time and inadequate training