IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mavenlink, the leading provider of cloud-based software for the modern services organization, today announced new results from its inaugural “Future of Work” survey about generational differences in the modern workplace. The first release focused on the importance of work/life balance. This second data release examines how organizations can develop team-building opportunities, another of the top-three most important workplace elements. Given the top pet peeves in the report include “lazy coworkers” and other annoyances related to interpersonal relationships, it’s clear team building is crucial to building a strong workplace culture. The full data report will be released later in 2020.
Interpersonal Pet Peeves Restrict Team-Building; Limit Productivity
It’s a well-known fact that employees lose a couple of hours a day of productive time. There are likely a number of reasons for this:
- The human brain has attention limits.
- Inefficiencies in information sharing or collaborating.
- Surprisingly annoying habits of coworkers, as cited in our survey responses.
Indeed, “lazy coworkers” ranks number one, but 42% of respondents felt bad attitudes, followed by “poor communication skills” (34%) were also noteworthy pet peeves. These choices were nearly universal across all generations, with one exception. The 18 to 24-year-old cohort1 listed bad attitudes as their biggest pet peeve, followed by lazy coworkers.
“Modern offices have different generations that must work together to achieve company goals,” said Ray Grainger, CEO and co-founder, Mavenlink. “This survey report shows that, while there are many perceived differences in how generations approach maintaining productivity, age groups may be much more alike than we think. One way leaders can help bring the workforce together is by understanding how various age groups approach work and the importance they place on team building. Doing so will maximize productivity, increase retention rates and drive business success.”
Other Productivity Killers Abound
Beyond pet peeves, respondents also listed these top productivity killers:
- Forty-five percent of all respondents selected “poor management/leadership” as the top productivity killer. However, more respondents in the 18 to 24-year-old group (47%) selected “poor management” as the top productivity killer when compared to the 45 to 54-year-old-group (46%).
- “Chatty coworkers” (43% of all respondents) was the second-most selected productivity killer. This was a nearly universal response across all age groups, but mid-career people (aged 35-44) responded that chatty coworkers are their number-one productivity killer.
- Meetings are universally loathed, especially by older cohorts. “Too many/unnecessary meetings” (41% all) was the third-most selected productivity killer. The 45 to 54-year-old (46%) and 55 to 64-year-old (50%) age groups differ here. Both selected “too many/unnecessary meetings” as their first-choice productivity killer and at higher rates than the entire sample size.
How to keep workers productive and limit office distractions
Managers and executives should listen to employees’ concerns and implement changes in these areas:
- People under the age of 44 are more likely than most other age groups to see “poor management/leadership” as a top productivity killer. Organizational leaders must evaluate how they interact with other employees if they wish to improve productivity and limit distractions.
- Older generations in particular appear frustrated by having too many meetings. Company leadership may want to explore ways they can ensure more efficient, targeted, or structured meetings, or just limit the amount of meetings their company schedules altogether.
- The parts of the job that respondents dislike the most are “office politics” (44%), “poor management/leadership” (26%), and “lack of transparency/hierarchy” (25%).
Employees face plenty of obstacles to productivity. Many of those obstacles seem to stem from challenges with interpersonal relationships. Whether employees feel frustrated by management or other team members, organizational leadership might be able to improve productivity by focusing more on team-building exercises. By identifying how different generations approach productivity and working with other individuals, business leaders can better promote collaborative relationship-building and, in turn, productivity.
This online survey was conducted in the United States during September 2019, by an independent creative market research agency, Atomik Research. The study’s sample consisted of 1,002 individuals employed full-time in a business/corporate environment.
About Mavenlink
Mavenlink is the modern software platform for professional and marketing services organizations. It is the only solution that helps services firms establish an operational system of record that facilitates their business lifecycle, including key capabilities like resource management, project management, collaboration, project accounting, and Business Intelligence. Services organizations in more than 100 countries are improving operational execution, increasing agility, and driving improved financial performance with Mavenlink. Mavenlink was named one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte, is the first solution to be listed as a Leader in both G2 Crowd’s Best Professional Services Automation and Best Project Management Software grids, and has been recognized as a Glassdoor Best Place to Work. Learn more at www.mavenlink.com.
1 The 18 to 24-year-old age group has a relatively small sample size and a higher margin of error as a result
Rachel Odenweller, [email protected]
