This Phrase is a Productivity Killer

The phrase, “One more thing,” is a productivity killer for both leaders and employees. In today’s busy world, it can be very tempting to squeeze a little more work into your day.

While it’s good to try to do more, constantly adding one more thing leads to burnout and frustration. Let’s discuss the challenge for leaders.

Has It Happened to You?

Imagine an employee who works all day and plans to leave on time. Suddenly, a leader says, “Could you do one more thing before you go home?”

While the message has an implied urgency, the actual task may not be urgent. The employee may wonder, if it’s so important, then why is it being asked for at the last minute?

In many cases, the employee sticks around, gets the job done, and may feel some resentment. After all, do they have the option to say, “No.” If not, then you’re telling someone to say late, not asking.

When a rare occurrence of having to stay late becomes a trend, good employees start to look for a new job. Replacing someone takes time, energy, and will likely result in a drop in productivity. That’s the price of constantly asking for one more thing.

Did You Create a Crisis?

There are those times when an emergency requires extra effort. But as a leader, did you create the crisis through poor planning? And does the task really need to be completed at a time when most are out of the office.

Ever notice when it comes to work life balance, many decisions come down on the side of work, not life?

Some feel they address this issue by having an employee who stays late, come in later the following day. While it’s a generous gesture, it may not match up with the demands of someone’s personal and family life.

As a leader, part of your job involves maximizing your team’s regular hours. If you regularly have to add last minute work to others, then you may be taking on too many tasks or not prioritizing them properly.

Time should be seen as a resource but taking more of it should not be a Get Out of Jail Free Card for ineffective planning.

The Boss Factor & The Productivity Killer

Some leaders may need to redefine expectations when a last minute request comes from their boss and then trickles down to employees. Does the boss really need people to stay late or is it acceptable to say, “My team will work on this first thing tomorrow.”

Next time, we’ll talk about how employees create their own productivity killer by saying, “One more thing.”