Impact of Good Work Habits, Time Management, Procrastination, & Attitudes on Productivity - Literature review Example

IMPACT OF GOOD WORK HABITS, TIME MANAGEMENT, PROCRASTINATION, & ATTITUDES ON PRODUCTIVITY Name: Course: Instructor: Institution: City: Date: Table of Contents Introduction 3 Good Work Habits 4 Importance of Time Management 5 Impact of Procrastination and Attitudes on Productivity 6 Conclusion 6 References 8 Introduction For any organization or business entity to thrive well, it is important to instil certain skills and habits among its employees with a view to improving their productivity in that organization (Zenoff, 2013). This is a mandate of any business entity if it wants to remain competitive and to improve its profitability as well. Good work habits and time management are such important skills and habits organizations should promote in order to improve their productivity. Even as it promotes the positive habits and skills for its productivity, an organization should also strive to minimize on the negative precursors of its productivity (Rogelberg, 2007). Some of these negative aspects include procrastination and negative attitudes. According to Parikh, & Gupta (2010), work habits may be defined as the soft skills that a potential employee should possess in order to be recruited and/or retain their job. Time management, on the other hand, refers to the ability of an individual to plan themselves well such that minimal recommended time is taken in accomplishing a given task(s) (Dubrin, 1994). Procrastination, however, is the habit of an individual to continuously keep postponing tasks under their jurisdiction (Ferrari, Johnson, & Mccown, 1995) while attitude refers to the way an individual views their surrounding and their responsibility as well (Duhigg, 2013). This paper, therefore, discusses the importance of good work habits and time management on productivity of an organization. It also discusses the impact of procrastination and attitudes on an organization’s productivity. In each of the areas, a reflection is done in relation to workplace examples and experiences at IGA Supermarket in Western Australia where I work as a fruit and vegetable manager. My proposition is that time management, positive attitudes, and good work habits have a positive impact on productivity while negative attitudes and procrastination impact negatively on the organization’s productivity. Good Work Habits Being the skills that an employee requires in order to acquire and/or maintain a job, work habits are essential not only for the success of the employee in their career but also for the overall productivity of the organization (Pritchard, 2002). While these skills may seem inborn, they are skills that people learn and acquire with time through constant practice and dedication. Some of the good work habits that employees should strive to have include cleanliness at work, ability to work well in a team, focus on the end result, regular trainings, and creativity (French, 2011). According to Dubrin (2013) good employee is one who ensures that their place of work is just as clean and neat as themselves. This habit is a reflection of the employee’s ability to organize and plan themselves well. It also presents a good image of the organization to the external business environment hence raising the confidence of suppliers and customers in dealing with the organization (French, 2011). The end result of all these is an improved productivity. Teamwork is also another aspect of good work habits that employees should strive to acquire. Luthans (2005) posits that working in teams not only helps build strong employee-employee relationships but also ensures that employees support one another in accomplishing the organizational goals hence improving the overall productivity. By participating in trainings, employees are able to acquire even more unique skills that they can use in their day-to-day roles in the organization. Trainings are a direct way of boosting the productivity of an employee as they provide a platform upon which employees can expound on their knowledge and skills hence boosting their productivity in the organization (Martin, 2005). At IGA Supermarket, these habits can be witnessed in the chain’s employees. I noticed, for instance, that the opening of the shops is not delayed even with a minute; the shop manager ensures the shops are opened at the exact time they are scheduled to. It is also IGA Supermarket’s organizational culture to take a bunch of its staff members for trainings biannually which significantly improves their overall productivity. In addition, teamwork is an aspect that is widely embraced in the supermarket. Employees are divided into teams each of which is headed by a rotational team leader who provides direction to the entire team. These are aspects that have significantly improved IGA’s productivity. Importance of Time Management As was mentioned earlier on in this paper, time management and punctuality are critically important in demonstrating how organized and focussed an employee is in their work in the organization. By properly managing their time well, employees are able to effective schedule their tasks such that more pressing tasks are allocated more time in order of their priority (Mills, 2007). That way, such an employee is able to spend enough of their time on the most productive tasks in the organization. This act impacts positively on the overall productivity of employees in the organization (King, & Lawley, 2012). Time management is a practice and habit that is widely embraced at IGA Supermarket. As was rightly mentioned before, I noticed, for instance, that the opening of the shops is not delayed even with a minute; the shop manager ensures the shops are opened at the exact time they are scheduled to. Impact of Procrastination and Attitudes on Productivity According to Ferrari, Johnson, & Mccown (1995), procrastination is a habit that employees should strive to get rid of in the course of performing their day-to-day roles in the organization. Postponing tasks and objectives not only annoys the external partners of the organization such as the suppliers and customers but also slows down the accomplishment of tasks in general. The end result of such behaviour is reduced productivity. This is because by procrastinating, employees tend to push forward tasks they would otherwise have accomplished on that day into the following day(s) or weeks hence reducing their overall productivity for that particular day (Lawson, 2016). The organization loses a lot as a result. Employees may also view things and situations quite differently. That is where attitude comes in. Developing a positive attitude towards work is an aspect of productivity that cannot be underestimated. By so doing, employees are able to effortlessly perform their tasks and roles willingly and without pressure. According to Schulman, & Kowadlo (2005), work done willingly by an employee not only turns out to be perfect but also reduces too much strain on the part of the employee. At IGA Supermarket in Western Australia, I noticed a bit of procrastination especially on the part of the senior management. I observed that could literally shelve certain projects or tasks under their jurisdiction based on their own individual reasons. The attitude held by everyone at IGA Supermarket towards work, however, is very positive. Right from the lowest staff to the very top, everyone seems to like what they do. Conclusion In summary, good work habits, time management, and positive attitudes towards work significantly improve the overall productivity in the organization. On the other hand, negative attitudes and procrastination generally have an undesirable impact on the productivity. Going forward, organizations should put effort in restructuring their Human Resource Department such that it can thoroughly screen its new staff for these habits and skills during recruitment. That way, organizations can be sure of improved productivity owing to the habits and skills held by their employees. References Dubrin, A. J. (1994). Contemporary applied management: skills for managers. Burr Ridge, Ill, Irwin. Dubrin, A. J. (2013). Proactive personality and behavior for individual and organizational productivity. Duhigg, C. (2013). The power of habit: why we do what we do and how to change. London, Random House. Ferrari, J. R., Johnson, J. L., & Mccown, W. G. (1995). Procrastination and Task Avoidance Theory, Research, and Treatment. Boston, MA, Springer US. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0227-6. French, R. (2011). Organizational behaviour. Hoboken, N.J., Wiley. King, D., & Lawley, S. (2012). Organizational behaviour. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Lawson, K. (2016). The trainer's handbook. Luthans, F. (2005). Organizational behavior. Boston, McGraw-Hill. Martin, J. (2005). Organizational behaviour and management. London [u.a.], Thomson Learning. Mills, A. J. (2007). Organizational behaviour in a global context. Peterborough, Ont, Broadview Press. Parikh, M., & Gupta, R. K. (2010). Organisational Behaviour. New Delhi, Tata McGraw Hill Education Pte. Ltd. Pritchard, R. D. (2002). Improving organizational performance with the productivity measurement and enhancement system: an international collaboration. Hauppauge, N.Y., Nova Science. Rogelberg, S. G. (2007). Encyclopedia of industrial and organizational psychology 2 2. Thousand Oaks [u.a.], SAGE Publ. Schulman, M., & Kowadlo, B. F. (2005). Working smart. Mason, OH, Thomson/South- Western. Zenoff, D. B. (2013). The soul of the organization how to ignite employee engagement and productivity. [Place of publication not identified], Apress. http://www.books24x7.com/marc.asp?bookid=52986. 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