Technology has made it possible to reach out to people, regardless of geographical distances. People today use their smartphones not only to simply work, shop, and play, but also to manage their personal life. This includes the way people conduct their interactions in building romantic and non-romantic relationships.
When the Pew Research Center polled Americans in 2005 about online dating, only 44% believed it was a good way to meet people, and the majority said it was a poor substitute for forming connections in the “real” world. Since then, the way people interact, meet, and show affection has evolved tremendously.In fact, when Pew Research Center conducted a follow-up surveyten years later, the proportion of people who thought internet dating was a decent method to meet others had increased to 59%.
The approach of online dating is similar to that of other social media platforms, but it also gives users the opportunity to meet others who share their interests, dislikes, and qualities. This makes online dating applications distinctiveas these criteria also increase the likelihood that a user will like the person they meet on a date. Due to this, online dating services saw a rising percentage of people who are forming lasting and meaningful relationships online.
Experiences in online dating
Online dating can be a hit-or-miss proposition. Some people have had great success with online dating, resulting in long-term partnerships. Others have tales of befuddlement and frustration.
According to a poll conducted in 2019 by Pew Research Center, three out of 10 Americans have ever used an online dating site or app, with 11% having done so in the previous year. Some claim these platforms have helped them create meaningful relationships.The study saw that 12% of participants have experienced being married or in a committed relationship with someone they met on a dating site or app.
While most online daters think their experience has been favorableoverall, they do point out some of the disadvantages of online dating. Americans who have used a dating site or app in the last year report feeling more frustrated (45%) than hopeful as a result of their previous encounter (28%). Out of those who are active users, 29% think that online dating has made them feel more hopeful, while 35% say it has made them feel pessimistic. Similarly, 32% believe online dating sites or apps have made them feel more confident, while 25% say they have made them feel uneasy.
Advantages of online dating
As with any other method of dating, meeting someone online has both advantages and disadvantages.Finkel et al. (2012), considers three major services that online dating sites offer to understand how online dating varies from traditional offline dating in essential ways. This also considered the circumstances in which online dating produces better romantic consequences than traditional offline dating:
Access: This refers to the users’ exposure and opportunity to identify potential romantic partners whom they would not otherwise meet. The use of an online dating program is convenient, and the effort of searching matches may be done from any location. It provides users with unprecedented levels of access to potential companions, which is especially beneficial for those who might otherwise lack such access.
Communication: Online dating applications allow users to use computer-mediated communication (CMC). This helps users interact and garner an initial sense of compatibility with specific potential partners through the dating site before meeting face-to-face. People are more susceptible to sincerely answer questions regarding their purpose of dating to find relationships that will fully correspond to their preferences.
Matching: Many websites feature an easy-to-use search engine that lets you find matches based on gender, age, hobbies, and aspirations. In an online dating survey, 72% of women said it was extremely essential that the profiles they looked at included information regarding the type of relationship the other party was seeking, compared to around half of males (53%). Women are also more likely to give more significance in finding partners that fit their criteria on religious beliefs (32% vs. 18%), occupation (27% vs. 8%), or height (27% vs. 8%) than men. Other gender disparities are more subtle, such as the relevance of users’ hobbies and interests, their racial or cultural heritage, or political involvement.
Disadvantages of online dating
While there are definite advantages to online dating, there are also some cautions to take. Users should be vigilant in creating relationships with people online as some may have malicious intent. Some of these disadvantagesinclude the following:
Idealization of the image: An idealistic image of your interlocutor with merits that aren’t inherent in them may appear. If the face-to-face meeting is postponed for a long time, it will be much more difficult to match the created image to a real person later. According to a Pew Research Center survey, women who have used a dating site or app are more likely to find it difficult to find individuals they were physically attracted to (36% vs. 21%) or who liked someone they would like to meet in person (36% vs. 21%). Male users, on the other hand, are more likely than female users to claim that finding people who shared their hobbies and interests was at least somewhat challenging (41% vs. 30%).
Harassment. While online dating apps or sites provide users with greater convenience in communicating and expressing themselves with potential matches, this is also their drawback – in terms of social communication morale. Based on a survey by Pew Research Center in 2019 of 4,860 U.S. adults, about 37% of online dating users say someone continued to contact them on a dating site or app after they said they were not interested. Out of those, 35% reported that someone sent them an unsolicited sexually explicit message or image, and 28% reported that the other party called them an abusive term after being rejected. These percentages are even greater among younger females; six out of 10 female users aged 18 to 34 said that someone contacted them after they stated they weren’t interested, and 57% say another user sent them unsolicited sexually explicit messages or photographs. At the same time, 44% of respondents stated they’ve been called offensive names on a dating site or app.
Short-term gratification: Offline encounters appear to be facilitated by location-based structural characteristics of online dating applications (Miles 2017), allowing for a quick fulfillment of users’ requirements (e.g. users seeking sexual encounters or one-night stands are able to find other users within a walking distance). In fact, according to the I-PACE (interaction of person-affect-cognition-execution) model (Brand et al. 2016), short-term gratification on dating apps can cultivate dysfunctional coping styles to deal with unpleasant emotions (e.g. frustration and anger). This also included dysfunctional affective and cognitive responses in relation to dating apps (e.g. craving, urge for mood regulation, and addiction).
Increased self-objectification:As some people use online dating platforms to fulfill their short-term sexual needs, this objectification of other users has become a concern that may also increase self-objectification (Koval et al. 2019). This has been linked to mental health issues such as clinical symptoms of depression and eating disorders in the past. As a result, more research is needed to look into users’ emotional experiences and how prolonged periods of use may affect wellbeing metrics and clinical mental health symptoms through self-objectification.
When it comes to online dating apps and the separation of dating from the rest of social life, there’s a bit of a causality dilemma. It’s likely that dating apps have built barriers between the search for potential spouses and typical work and community routines. However, it’s also plausible that dating apps are thriving at this point in history because people have stopped looking for potential companions while going about their daily lives at work and in their communities.
What does business as usual mean now? How have last year’s events changed the future of work? How has employee engagement changed? New business models, exponential technology, agile working methods, and regulation are constantly changing how organizations work. Let’s take a closer look at lessons learned through the experiences of employee engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The world was shaken, and despite the negative effects of the recent global health crisis, we can all agree on one thing: We learned a lot in terms of organizational change and growth. After businesses were forced to close their offices and manage all their employees remotely, the learning curve for managers was initially steep. Yet this new way of functioning has brought valuable lessons about how to boost employee engagement that should not be forgotten in the new normal.
Employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment an employee has to their organization and its employees, vision, and goals. It is not only about employee satisfaction, high salaries, or benefits packages. Employees who are engaged in their work and committed to their organizations give companies crucial competitive advantages, such as higher productivity and lower employee turnover.
So, let’s see some lessons and how some companies managed their organizations and increased engagement in a virtual environment.
1. Choose a supportive management approach.
Some companies have been allowing their employees to work from home even before the pandemic hit. They already have rules and ways to manage teams remotely. Other organizations were completely surprised when the lockdowns happened, having no procedures or ways to manage and assess employees in a remote work setup. Some common online methods used were daily or weekly team meetings and frequent 1-1 check-ins.
For many, having frequent check-ins led to a micro-goal setting and allowed employees to receive constant feedback. This coaching approach has led to performance improvement. It also allows management to easily assess and measure progress while also boosting team productivity, which, in turn, keeps employees engaged and gives them a sense of purpose and achievement in reaching goals.
INMAGINE’s remote working environment was quick to adopt best practices in the areas of employee engagement and retention. This creative company founded in 2001 started an anonymous online feedback channel for employees to share anything, assuring them that lines of communication are open. They have also formed peer support groups according to six personality types. It serves as a platform for employees to exchange stories and thoughts not just about their jobs but also their personal lives.
2. Assure a flexible and positive work environment.
For most employees, a change in the environment has become the biggest challenge. It is felt in the transition from being physically present in the office, where one can focus on work, to working at home, where varying contrasts abound, such as being alone or having young children or elderly to care for., All of these could be disruptive to any workflow.
That said, the flexible working environment that most employees experienced during COVID-19 has changed our understanding of work-life balance. Working from home has allowed employees to do their work and attend to personal needs (e.g. taking care of children, elderly, and pets and running errands) simultaneously. This has served as a reminder to managers that several non-work-related factors can affect an employee’s mindset and engagement.
Employees have proven the ability to maintain the balance between work and personal needs, albeit through a forced testing period. In the post-COVID period, management must not forget the importance of constantly creating a positive work environment for their employees. This must include ensuring that work fits into their employees’ lives and not the other way around. When employees feel that their personal needs are valued by management, their emotional connection to the organization is strengthened, and they are more likely to stay.
3. Encourage trust in leadership.
During these challenging times, employees had to trust their leaders to take the right direction and to make tough decisions about the future. A key part of trust in leadership is transparency, which means employees are aware of what is happening within their organization. This is particularly important during a work-from-home scenario, where employees rely on leaders to make crucial decisions for the future of their jobs and the organization. This is why clear, open communication between management and employees on how the organization is tackling COVID-19 is crucial.
At INMAGINE, online meetups with founders and online mentoring sessions with the CEO allowed employees of all levels to engage directly with senior management leaders. In these sessions, employees can freely ask questions and solicit feedback. Having a good collaboration platform is another example of how INMAGINE eases the challenges of working from home. INMAGINE uses Bitrix to keep employees updated on work matters, enable employees to chat live online, and create workgroups for discussions and brainstorming. The tech team advocates extra tools to help manage projects and people, Jira. This ensures that all deadlines are crystal clear to everyone, and the pipeline of each project journey is clearly outlined.
4. Build a virtual office watercooler.
For decades, practitioners have gathered around office watercoolers to catch up with colleagues. Casual conversations run the gambit from professional to personal topics. If you and your team are missing these chats, why not create a virtual watercooler so they can continue even if you are not physically in an office? Establish an “Around the Watercooler” team on the Microsoft Teams platform where team members can start or engage in random conversations throughout the day when they need a break. Add an optional standing “Watercooler Conversation” on Zoom during the week to encourage this type of interaction. If your firm uses Slack, check out the Watercooler app, where bots organize random conversations among team members. Ask your employees what platform is best for them.
5. Make a virtual remix of the firm’s favorite tax season activities.
Bring back the friendly atmosphere from the fun activities you used to have by creating new virtual versions. Incorporate a “crazy hat day” or “wear your favorite sports team attire” in virtual check-ins. Ask individuals to share interesting backstories about what they are wearing, then vote for the best attire. Host monthly lunch celebrations online to recognize your team’s accomplishments. To add to the excitement, have a meal from a restaurant client delivered to the team. How about a bracket selection party for Christmas, New Year Celebration, or other types of celebrations.
6. Reward good efforts.
People want to know that they are appreciated, especially when they work additional hours to help the company achieve its goals. Make it a priority to acknowledge your team members for their hard work. Share success stories during meetings. Pick up the phone, initiate a quick Zoom call, send an email, or write a personal note to say “thank you.” Tell them how much their dedication means to you and the management. Send them a gift card from their favorite restaurant or store, movie tickets, or other types of incentives. Do all you can to make your staff feel appreciated and valued. A little recognition can make the difference between an engaged employee and one that has a foot out the door.
To inspire trust in leadership in the post-COVID-19 period, we recommend having frequent check-ins and transparent conversations between top management, head of departments, and employees to feel included in what is happening within the organization. Moreover, it is also imperative for employees to learn about individual growth opportunities.
Leaders who invest in the learning and development of their employees will be encouraging engagement. Learning can be provided not only through professional education and training but also through constructive feedback, a crucial element in achieving a learning organization status. These practices will boost employee engagement and help organizations to retain their employees for the longer term.
Managing individual and team performance requires up-to-date knowledge and skills. Through The KPI Institute’s Employee Performance Management Professional and Practitioner training courses, leaders will learn how to develop a culture of performance and implement performance systems aligned with the strategic goals of the company. Learn more about the course by sending an email to office@kpiinstitute.org or calling T: +61 3 9028 2223 M: +61 4 2456 8088
Wealth building is the process of producing long-term revenue from a variety of sources. This includes savings, investments, and other income-generating assets in addition to job-based income. The foundation of wealth creation is based on effective financial planning and insight into one’s future financial goals.
Almost everyone wishes to be prosperous at some phase of life. Some individuals prefer to live frugally to save more money, while others take risks by investing in high-return assets to accumulate wealth. Everyone has a different definition of wealth. For some, it is owning property; for others, it consists of making profitable investments.
In terms of finance, wealth is defined as the number of assets you possess without your creditors. Building wealth may tend to be challenging, but it is simple. You don’t have to make six figures to make this a reality. If you are committed, you can accumulate wealth regardless of your age.
Accumulating wealth
Keep in mind that accumulating wealth does not happen overnight. Here are some strategies for expanding your wealth. To accumulate wealth over time, three basic formulas must be taken: make more money than you spend, avoid debt, and invest your savings wisely.
Before investing, you must have a consistent source of income that will last for the rest of your life. It is recommended to establish a solid savings strategy once a steady source of income has been established. Finally, it is time to invest. Step one is to make money, this may appear to be a simple step, but it is the most crucial for individuals who are just commencing out or in transition.
Most of us have seen statistics that indicate how a modest sum saved daily and compounded over time may eventually build up to massive wealth. An essential thing to consider is if your present work can supply you with a consistent quantity of savings for the next 40 to 50 years. If not, it’s time to start looking for alternatives to make more money. Earned income and passive income are the two primary forms of income.
Earned money is derived from your regular work, whereas passive income is derived from investments. To improve your earning income, you may need to first improve your career. Once you’ve established adequate financial stability, you may begin saving and investing.
There are two strategies to increase your income and return on investment. You have the option of reducing your costs or increasing your income. Most people focus on the first and ignore the second. By developing your skillset, you may improve your wealth which may include acquiring a degree, an MBA, or a specific certification all of which can prompt a career advancement and salary increase.
But as we all know, the world’s wealthiest people are not employees but entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship addresses two main components of creating wealth: income and strong returns on invested capital. In a nutshell, if you have an organizational methodology that might help you gain more profit, get started.
Then you can also take up high-paying jobs. Some of the careers, however, are too unaffordable. They may also need a significant amount of time to finish the required education, and it may take much longer before you begin earning a high income.
Before deciding on a career, you should think about all these issues. Whatever professional route you pick, make sure it does not put you in too much debt. Even if you have a job, you don’t have to rely solely on it. You may improve your income by running a profitable side hustle.
It doesn’t have to be a huge company. You can establish a small business and provide the services that you are proficient at. For example, with the advent of technology, you may now start a completely online firm. If you’re too busy, you can recruit others to operate the business for you.
During your spare time, you may convert your ability or interest into financial worth. If you have an internet connection, you may operate a variety of profitable side hustles online. These include assisting people as a virtual assistant, copywriting, online tutoring, consulting, and so on. Other non-internet-required side hustles include being a part-time lecturer at a nearby community college, freelance bookkeeping, tax preparation, and part-time driver for ridesharing or delivery services.
Setting aside your wealth
Many people live comfortably after achieving financial security, yet they do not save well. The second step to wealth building is to set aside a percentage of your earned money regularly. Once you’ve saved enough money, you may begin investing to generate passive income. There are some ways to save more money; first, creating a budget should be part of your financial plan which includes projections of your expenses versus your income.
A budget is a key instrument in the building of wealth. It provides you with a breakdown of your expenses, highlighting areas where you may cut back to improve your savings. It is best to set a fresh budget every month to keep it manageable. Such a person without allocation of the budget will almost certainly face a terrible financial collapse.
According to GOBankingRates, the fifty, thirty, and twenty rule is a common and efficient budgeting method. According to this strategy, you should spend 50% of your salary on necessities such as food, rent, and healthcare. Non-essentials, such as shopping and luxury pastimes, receive a 30% allocation. The remaining 20% is the most significant allocation, and it should be used for savings.
Building an emergency fund is the most important part because you never really know what’s around the corner. Emergency fund kits prepare you for unforeseen occurrences such as a job loss. Such incidents might throw your wealth-building strategy off track if you don’t have emergency reserves.
Selling investment or developing debts are two frequent consequences. When you accumulate loans, your wealth begins to dwindle. You’ll also have to pay interest on the loan. If you sell your investment, you will lose the money and interest that you would have earned otherwise.
To avoid such circumstances, create an emergency fund as a backup to cover unexpected expenses. Debt whether credit card debt, mortgage debt, student loan debt, or any other type — can obstruct your efforts to create your wealth. You may begin by paying off high-interest debt to save money and begin building wealth.
Living below your means can also help to save more money. Meanwhile, overspending can have a significant influence on your capacity to accumulate money. Reduce your expenditure on needless items such as dining out, buying expensive clothes, and taking frequent trips. While being thrifty might be tedious and unsatisfactory, you will acquire riches and find it gratifying over time.
Securing your wealth
You’re bringing sufficient funds and adequately saving, yet you are putting it all in safe investments, like your bank’s normal savings account. According to FortuneBuilders, if you want to develop a substantial portfolio, you must accept some risk, which means you must invest in securities. So, you should figure out what degree of exposure is best for you.
When you invest your money, it gives you more money in return. Investing your income in the stock market, and in real estate, the gold market, and bank investment can build you massive wealth over time. Purchasing stock in a firm is one of the simplest and most effective methods to generate money. You become a shareholder by purchasing shares, which gives you ownership of a portion of the firm.
Investing in equities using exchange-traded funds is a transparent and risk-free method. Real estate, private notes backed by real estate, and stocks have traditionally been the strongest wealth-building investments. This is because each of these assets can provide consistent cash flow. While other wealth-building assets can give returns for skilled investors, these are regarded to be the best.
Gold may be a valuable financial item to have in a well-balanced portfolio. This kind of investment has some of the strongest turnovers in currency markets and has often grown in value over time. It can also be purchased online or through a mutual fund distributor.
You may also buy these funds through a mutual fund distributor. Investment banking is a branch of banking concerned with the production of money via the selling of stocks and bonds to assist firms in raising cash. Investment banks serve as a link between major corporations and investors, advising firms and governments on how to address financial difficulties and the best method to generate cash, whether through stock offerings, bond issuances, or derivative products.
Building wealth is not a difficult task. If you are diligent and disciplined, you can quickly raise your money. Before embarking on this path, it is critical to empower yourself with financial knowledge. That alone should accelerate you through the other phases with ease and finally lead to wealth creation. When it comes to building wealth, many individuals ignore retirement funds. You will not only save for retirement, but you will also increase your wealth over time.
Money can be a sensitive issue and an uncomfortable subject to talk about for some, even with their families. Several surveys have documented the same view that society holds on money talks: a taboo. The APA survey revealed that 18% of Americans say that money is taboo to talk about with their families. Furthermore, 36% do not feel comfortable talking about money despite being stressed due to financial problems.
Why the Taboo?
In her research article, Dr. Liezel Alsemgeest from the Centre for Financial Planning Law, University of the Free State, South Africa, listed possible reasons behind money as a taboo subject in the family. First, as part of the norm, it is customary not to talk about finances. Talking about money openly is not a common practice in many societies, even in Western countries. This is passed on to the next generations through practices and habits in the family, making it difficult to change.
Second, money poses sacred and profane meanings as both a tool and a drug. As a tool, money enables people to make ends meet. However, it has the danger of becoming a drug for people as it leads to money obsessions. Examples of disorders may arise such as overspending, impulsive buying, and pathological gambling. Due to this, money becomes a touchy subject as it may mean several things for different people.
Third, money can have social and cultural connotations. Money can act as a non-verbal cue of an individual’s status in society. Furthermore, it can act as an illustration of the degree of an individual’s acceptance into society. Since this can lead to certain biases based on material possessions rather than personal qualities or achievements, people would rather not talk about money to avoid judgment.
Finally, money is often associated with feelings of power or inferiority as well as shame, embarrassment, and guilt. Money can empower an individual’s standing in society and family, leading to inequality in resource sharing and decision-making. Consequently, in line with its social and cultural aspect, openly talking about money could bring to the surface negative emotions that most people are not comfortable with. Parents might want to protect their children from worrying or feeling embarrassed while keeping their dignity and concealing their guilt.
Starting financial talks with children
As the first institution of life, the family plays a vital role in shaping and influencing an individuals’ financial values and behaviors. Family financial socialization can affect an individual’s financial knowledge, self-efficacy, and subjective financial wellbeing. This means that a child can be introduced to finances through discussions on money and how their parents handle it.
To ensure that they do not cause excessive worry and fear about what awaits their children in the future, parents need to be cautious when approaching the topic of finances. Parents may start by sharing the importance of getting a job to earn money and how it correlates to the future of their families. Parents may also share what they think about savings, how they spend money, and when they use credit cards.
This may prove to be challenging as this also exposes the good and bad spending habits of parents. However, this can be an opportunity for children to learn and develop healthy relationships with money. By gaining good habits and learning from the bad, children can eventually develop better financial habits.
Similarly, discussions such as retirement planning, long-term care, inheritance, and estate planning between aging parents and their children who are of legal age are also necessary. This conversation might be the most uncomfortable one, especially when family estrangement exists. To tackle this, finding financial professionals who can sort out finances for them can avoid disclosing sensitive information. For aging parents who are financially less prepared, communicating their concerns to their children is important to resolve any bigger issues that may arise and harm their family systems in the future.
Sharing financials with spouses
Starting discussions on money matters with a spouse/partner can be surprisingly difficult too. Some people keep financial secrets from their spouse/partner. However, it can put a strain on not only their financial health but also on their relationships as a whole.
To start opening up about financial matters with a spouse/partner, one can share their past experiences with money. These can include the money values and habits they grew up with. During these discussions, they may discover differences in handling money which might be rooted in childhood teachings.
Along with these experiences, one can also share their expectations in shouldering the management of finances. Differences in individual income and debts can also be a source of tension in an intimate relationship. However, by having these discussions, couples can learn how they handle household finances and also deepen their relationship.
Conclusion
Society needs to see discussions about money in a new light, especially in the family context. While financial issues and the stress that comes along with it are challenges that one deals with on a daily basis, people need support from the ones closest to them: their family members. This also indicates our intentional effort to build resiliency and develop a source of social support when facing financial hardships.
However, this can only happen if the silence is broken within the family setting and new norms are made regarding conversations on money. Talking about money could mean exposing one of our vulnerabilities, but it can also save us from more dire situations and even provide more hands to reach out to later on. If people continue to keep financial issues out of the discussion and hide unhealthy money spending from other family members, this ignorance can be detrimental to the family’s financial wellbeing.
Time is becoming a scarcity due to the rapid developments in technology. Information overflow, the need for change, and a shift in priorities are often a response to the increasing demand for products and services accelerated by the expanding global competition. Therefore, the ability to optimize one’s time to improve performance and increase productivity is a skill that is highly valued in today’s workplaces.
However, to grow such a skill, one must also deal with procrastination which includes the tendency to avoid starting and finishing tasks, as well as poor time management. As such, this problem of procrastination is becoming frequent and costly, especially for businesses. Some studies found that 30-65% of this wasted time is suggested to contribute 30-40% of productivity loss. This, in turn, was found to incur annual losses amounting to $8,875 per employee, adding up to $85 billion per year in the US only.
Therefore, it’s crucial to understand the act of procrastination. This includes defining what it is, why people do it, who does it more, how it is done, and what happens as a result of it. From there, one can understand ways to reduce it and decrease its impact.
Defining procrastination
Procrastination is a trait that has been defined as the tendency to “voluntarily delay an intended course of action, despite expecting to be worse off for the delay”. Organizational researchers studied irrational delay of work but referred to aspects such as time management at work, cyberslacking, and presenteeism. In terms of the workplace, employees procrastinate in two ways: soldiering and cyberslacking.
Soldiering is the act of avoiding work without passing it on to their colleagues. Examples of this include daydreaming and having extended coffee breaks. Meanwhile, cyberslacking is spending time in digital media which includes online shopping, gaming, or engaging in instant messaging. This is more detrimental as it has seen reduced performance and lower network security, incurring costs of around $130,000 per organization in the US alone.
Different conditions can explain why procrastination happens. For example, employees with high education, income, and job autonomy levels are more likely to procrastinate. These employees experience what researchers call “time famine” wherein the pressure to meet multiple deadlines is unequal to the time they have to complete them. Meanwhile, lower-level employees tasked with work requiring less cognitive complexity can perceive the work as boring and can often engage in procrastination.
Impact at work
Employees often take breaks to re-energize. However, excessive breaks may result in procrastination that leads to costly delays. Furthermore, employees commonly face interruptions like procrastination that lead to work disorganization and can affect the completion of a task.
Procrastinators may choose to work on achieving easy and short-term goals instead of striving for hard and long-term goals. Even if they choose to go for easier work, their goals are vaguely set without deadlines or evaluation of progress. Due to this, they are more likely to be behind schedule on their projects and have lower scores on aspects such as time management. They also make more errors and work slower than non-procrastinators when performing time-limited tasks.
As a result of procrastination, an employee would be likely to experience low self-esteem and a lack of impulse control. They would also have higher levels of anxiety compared to non-procrastinators. This creates a vicious circle of procrastination to make up for their anxiety and improve their mood. They are also found to be relatively more agitated, dejected, anxious, and miserable in the long run.
Solving the problem
Procrastination is the silent killer for any organization today. It is also an underestimated problem that can end up incurring massive financial and productivity losses. Organizations should give more attention to solve this issue and maintain effectiveness. To do that, here are some ways that organizations can tackle employee procrastination.
First, organizations should provide training employees on time management to reduce the tendency of their employees to procrastinate. Some studies showed that a one-month training course on time management reported a significant decrease in avoidance behavior and worry. Research also showed that this can reduce procrastination by increasing the ability of employees to manage their time better.
Second, providing training on self-regulation skills which can relate to sales performance and prove to be important in time management. As self-regulation can help improve one’s self-control, it also instills the practice to achieve goals that have long-term gains instead of short-term gratification. Additionally, developing this skill helps foster high job performance amongst their employees and curb counterproductive behaviors.
Finally, organizations can make use of job crafting to motivate their employees to be more involved in their jobs. This includes deciding over different aspects in how they want to work on tasks to match their preferences, skills, and competencies. This can be a useful strategy to make the job more interesting for employees and limit procrastination.
