Repetitive coworker interruptions can eat up a lot of your productive time. These are often requests to help a colleague with something. The tasks are not complex but they are outside your normal responsibilities.
These coworker interruptions are not coming from supervisors but peers. While it’s good to help out and support teamwork, it’s important to be mindful of how much time you’re spending on other people’s work.
Let’s consider someone we’ll call Doug. Doug has many talents but he’s not good at spreadsheets. He needs to use a spreadsheet to submit his monthly expense report.
His solutions to this challenge is to show up, every month at your desk, with a bunch of receipts and a sad look on his face.
You do the work for him because you want to be kind. But you’re doing Doug’s work and you’re doing Doug’s menial work.
Prevent Doug’s Coworker Interruptions
You need to stage a Doug Intervention. You tell Doug that you’ll do the task one more time. During this time, you will give a step by step explanation of the process. You will encourage Doug to record these instructions with his smartphone, so he will have a record of them.
But once you’re done, you’re done with Doug. It doesn’t mean you don’t like him or that you don’t wish him well. But by doing his work, you’re taking time away from your responsibilities. You’re also enabling Doug to not learn a new skill.
Think of it like a parent who cuts a child’s food into bite-sized portions. Eventually, the practice needs to come to an end because an older child can and should be able to handle the responsibility. You don’t want to cut the food of a 19 year old.
Another Solution for these Coworker Interruptions
You’ll do Doug’s expense report but he now has to take on one of your menial tasks. In this scenario, there is an exchange of value.
Very often, this will make Doug disappear, as his motivation is getting people to help him and not the other way.
This strategy may also be good to consider ahead of time, in case Doug goes to a superior, says you’re being mean, which leads to a decision that you have to continue preparing his expense report. It’s now a requirement of your job.
If your supervisor gets involved, you want to make sure you can proactively suggest a solution that doesn’t involve your doing Doug’s work, while receiving nothing in return.
Final Thought
It’s important to help people at work but make sure your performance doesn’t go down in an ocean of generosity.
Does your next meeting need something special?
