I got a call the other day from a business owner who had employees (apparently more than one) who had an “addiction,” as he put it, to texting.  They had their hands under their desks texting friends and family almost all day long.  He said it had even gotten to the point they were texting while in senior management meetings!  He asked what he should do.

Here are my thoughts.  Texting is just like any time-waster.  It used to be personal calls (although they were much easier to monitor because they came through the switchboard.)  Then it was people playing solitaire all day.  Then it was you tube, facebook, porn sites, etc.  Now it’s texting.  The response is the same for all time wasters.  If I’m paying you $15 per hour and you’re not producing $15 per hour worth of work, you’re cheating the company (and the shareholders) out of the difference.  [note:  By the same token, if you consistently produce $20 per hour worth of work, you should be appropriately compensated on the other end, but that's another post.]

Time wasting may well be an addiction.  Like any addiction, we should work with our employees to reduce and eliminate time wasters from the workplace.  Most employees will make progress and the outcome will be favorable.  Some, however, won’t.  In that case, the only option is to let them go.  It’s just like dealing with any addiction.  What would you do if you had an employee constantly came in drunk.  You’d try to get him some help.  You’d encourage and motivate him.  You might even pay for rehab for him.  But at the end of the day, if he was unwilling to rehabilitate himself, you’d have no choice but to let him go.  

It should be noted that that’s not your choice.  That’s the choice the employee makes.  I’ve been asked many times if I feel bad when I have to let someone go.  The answer is always the same.  I feel bad for their family.  I feel bad for our company.  But I don’t feel bad for the person because by the time I let someone go, they’ve had ample time to choose to save their own life.  If they chose not to save their own life, I have no control over that and I can’t feel bad.  I’ve done everything I can.

So be aware of time wasters.  They kill productivity on all levels.  Almost always they start small and grow.  If they’re not nipped in the bud, they will get worse.  It seems to me that time wasters are often an outgrowth of the corporate culture.  Examine your culture to see what you might be doing to encourage employees to waste time (it could be a culture that’s too stiff, or too loose.)  Then make an adjustment.  At the end of the day, you mustn’t tolerate employees wasting time.  It will eventually overwhelm your business.