Welcome to the July 27, 2005 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

What's Inside:

1. Employees Wasting Time is just like having "unemployed" people on your payroll?

A new survey from America Online (AOL) and Salary.com found that the average American worker wastes 2 hours and 5 minutes a day, which cumulatively adds up to $759 billion a year in lost productivity.

Not surprisingly, the top time waster was Web surfing, with workplace socializing coming in at number two. "Applying for other jobs" came seventh place on the list.

The survey solicited reasons as to why employees wasted time. The most popular reason was not having enough to do while not being paid enough came in second place. In this regard the sticker axiom, "They pretend to pay me and I pretend to work," comes to mind.

Top time-wasting activities include:

• Personal Internet Use including emailing
• Socializing with co-workers
• Conducting personal business
• Spacing out
• Running errands
  

Top reasons for wasting time:

• Don't have enough work to do
• Underpaid for the work I do
• Co-workers distract me
• Not enough evening or weekend time
• Other

This amount of "paid leave" shouldn't catch employers completely off-guard. Employers do expect workers to waste 1 hour a day plus lunch and actually calculate that into their salary structure.

But workers say they actually waste 2-plus hours a day...and this doesn't include the time they believe they spend in pointless meetings or carrying out inane requests from their boss(es) or waiting for a response from customer service, shipping, vendors, co-workers or their bosses. Add to this the projects and tasks that are delayed or messed up as a result of turnover, vacations, and vacancies, not to mention sheer stupidity and lack of motivation.

The top time-wasting industries were:

• Insurance workers - 2.5 hours wasted per day
• Public sector workers - 2.4 hours
• Research and development - 2.3 hours
• Education - 2.2 hours
• Software and Internet - 2.2 hours

More human resource trends.

Source: America Online, Survey.com, Success Performance Solutions

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #427 to #430

Don't miss day-to-day updates on Perfect Labor Storm. Save the Perfect Labor Storm blog to your favorites.

Fact #427: The cost of high teacher turnover and attrition rates is enormous. Every year, American schools spend $2.6 billion on teacher attrition.

Fact #428: Between the end of the 1999-2000 and the beginning of the 2000-2001 school years, about 67,000 teachers retired, accounting for only 24 percent of the 278,000 turnover and only 12 percent of the total turnover of 546,000 during that period. Rather, the data show that the demand for new teachers, and subsequent staffing difficulties, are primarily due to pre-retirement teacher turnover. (Source: U.S. Department of Education)

Fact #429: According to a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) survey of 8,400 public and private school teachers, the main reasons for high teacher turnover and attrition rates are with inadequate administrative support (38 percent) and workplace conditions (32 percent).

Fact #430: Two-thirds of the nation's mathematics and science teaching force will retire by 2010.

Source: National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - Only $7.95.

3. "Fore" Styles To Improve Your Golf Game

What's your "best" mental golf style? What's your preferred style when preparing to take a shot, managing the course, or working with your golf instructor? Get your head in sync with your physical swing - Get your Mental Golf Profile at Success Performance Solutions.

4. The Manager's Pocket Guide to Motivating Employees

Hundreds of reports and statistics prove that a motivating workplace is essential to the success of an organization. This practical guide concisely outlines the steps to creating and maintaining a fun, energized and highly motivating work environment where employees want to work - and stay.

The author believes a smart manager can get 60% of workers to work harder. If a staggering increase in your productivity sounds good, The Manager's Pocket Guide to Motivating Employees is for you.

You'll discover proven tips for creating an environment which fosters motivation, including how to:

• Hire motivated people
• Convey the goals of your organization and how employees fit
  into the big picture
• Generate enthusiasm throughout your staff
• Set expectations and provide opportunities for growth

           And more.

5.  A Practical Guide to Understanding and Managing Hispanic Employees

Hispanics make up a huge percentage of the workforce in the hotel, food, manufacturing, service and many other industries. As a manager or co-worker do you understand the motives and needs behind the behaviors? Do you want to learn how to create a more inclusive environment, and how to increase your effectiveness with cross-cultural communication to get results?

Inside this book you'll learn the secrets of:

• Overcoming the biggest barriers to cross-cultural communication and collaboration.
• Customizing your message to appeal to the different types of Hispanics in your organization.
• Helping Hispanic employees work through cultural shackles that keep them from contributing and succeeding.
• Establishing long-term organizational tranformation. This is not just a passing fad linked to the current popularity of Salsa music!
• Creating an environment of mutual trust, increased business literacy, personal accountability

              and ownership!

And much more - Purchase Motivating Hispanic Employees..

Only $24.95

6. Six Proven Business Motivators revealed in Understanding Business and Values.

Understanding Business Values and Motivators is an introduction to understanding the six business values and motivators that drives human performance. In this book, Ira Wolfe describes how each of the motivators affects peoples' behavior in the workplace and how managers can tap into those motivators to increase productivity and improve performance.

Order your copy of Understanding Business Values and Motivators today - only $12.95.

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