We all have bad habits but it’s easy to play down the impact that they have on our productivity at work. However, new research has found that our foibles are thwarting efficiency and wasting a whole month’s worth of output every year.
The research from Sage One revealed that four out of five business owners are hindered by bad habits and that nipping these habits in the bud could potentially unlock lost productivity with 52% of owners estimating that, if they could shake their indiscretions, they could free up an extra hour a day. Others were even more optimistic about the potential gains of ditching bad habits with 14% of respondents predicting that they could reclaim one to two hours of lost productivity per day.
The research revealed that the bad habits bogging down British bosses included failing to think about the bigger picture, striking a poor work-life balance and leaving things until the last minute. Other common habits included not doing accounts early enough, not taking the time for pastoral care and failing to share information.
But it seems businesses don’t know where to begin when it comes to shaking off vices – and a third of business owners admitted that the thought had never even crossed their minds. While one in five said that putting in the hard graft to change routine behaviours was the main reason that they haven’t tackled the problem, 15% confessed that they did not see why the change was necessary.
“Habits can become second nature to us, and once we have them they’re a hard nut to crack,” explained Nick Goode, general manager at Sage One. “But by making an effort to shift them and break routine, businesses can transform the way they work, take greater control and reclaim valuable time to spend on driving their business forward.”
They say the only proper way to eliminate a bad habit is to replace it with a good one and, evidently, doing so can boost a lot more than your morale.
