These are the biggest productivity drains on communicators, Ragan survey says
Heavy workloads and inefficient meetings zap productivity, according to a comprehensive Ragan Salary & Workplace Culture Survey report. What’s slowing you down at work?
Communicators are taking on more responsibilities than ever. Why do they feel punished for it?
Ragan’s Salary & Workplace Culture Survey: 2022 Edition reveals the top productivity drains on communicators.
The main drains are a heavy workload, unnecessary and inefficient meetings.
The Ragan survey shows that heavy workloads are the greatest productivity drain (61%), followed closely by unnecessary (59%) and inefficient meetings (56%). These stats emphasize how endless meetings only pile onto the high number of day-to-day responsibilities for communicators, delaying their completion of major projects in a timely manner.
These drains are exacerbated by “Other internal departments not respecting our time, dumping things on us last minute, also senior leadership not making decisions fast or early enough, and then our team having to scramble,” wrote one communicator.
Drains demonstrate a lack of appreciation
The strain of heavy workloads and extra meetings is further exacerbated by long approvals for projects (49%) and a lack of clear and unambiguous communication (44%), pointing to a notable lapse in effective communications between those doing the work and senior management. More than a third of communicators surveyed still struggle with the daily drag of sorting through email (38%), while a quarter feel their time is wasted by projects that are aborted along the way.
One communicator said that these drains can be caused by “Other internal departments not respecting our time, dumping things on us last minute, also senior leadership not making decisions fast or early enough, and then our team having to scramble.”
Another agreed, adding that “poor coordination in advance cause(s) more work later.”
The net result, added another communicator, was a feeling of “Lack of appreciation, lack of reward, limited trust whereas one must over justify any and everything, especially if it involves change, or pricing.”
What’s slowing you down, comms pros? Let us now in the comments below.
Read the complete findings from the Salary & Workplace Culture Survey: 2022 Edition.
I’m so glad I’m not alone with feeling this way. Most days are hard, and I get anxious going into work because I never know what the day may bring or how long it may end up being. Some days, I feel like work is too dominant in my life, and while I don’t have a family to be responsible for like all my coworkers, my personal life is vastly important to me. In many ways, it’s more important than my work life. But when I work 12-13 hour days, it feels like no one in my department cares. I’ll try and say something, but I feel like the vibe I get from management is the equivalent of a shrug emoji. It’s demoralizing. And to put in energy and time for work that you are told is important, to only have it cut or delayed, it is just a defeating feeling. Like what’s the point?