How to Engage Employees with No Work Without Resorting to Warnings or Punishments?

Dear All,

I have noticed situations wherein a few (3-4) employees at times have no work at all. They cannot be shifted to different projects in an IT solutions company as there is a possibility that work might come in between, and they have to be ready for it. However, at times, out of the total work hours (8-9 hours a day), 75% of the time, they are on Facebook, Gmail chats, watching cricket info, trading in shares, and at times, continuously planning for their honeymoon (a lady who is getting married in December).

They visit some technical websites sometimes and read useful stuff, but they cannot keep doing it for 4 hours a day. They will get bored and lose interest even if what they are reading is important and interesting to them.

Suggestions for Useful Activities

Can you suggest some useful activities that can take place for these people? They range from 1-3 years of work experience, work on the same technology, and are in the same work team.

I do not want to give them warnings or yell at them as it will only result in the continuation of their existing behavior in a hidden way. I would like to know of things that they would like to do (very doubtful) and at the same time, they get some learning out of it.

This situation is faced in many companies. So, I would like all those people who have given a solution to add inputs to this.

(We all have one-hand distance between our seats. All sit in the same way side-to-side and facing each other, even the project managers.)

Regards,
Ashlesha

Hi Ashlesha, In many companies, it happens that employees take frequent breaks from work to chat or check the internet, forward emails, or engage in entertainment to refresh their minds. While a few breaks are acceptable and necessary, frequent breaks can disrupt concentration and the productivity of other employees. This often occurs when there is no significant work to be done, or when employees become bored with routine tasks and seek constant change. You have taken the correct approach by not being harsh with them since this approach is unlikely to work and may only increase stress among your employees. It's like trying to hold water - the more you try, the more it slips through your fingers. Here are a few suggestions you can consider:

1) Encourage them to create training materials under the guidance of a senior Team Lead. This could involve developing animated slides to explain technical concepts, building technical models, charts, or simplifying complex documents for quick understanding, which can later be used for training purposes.

2) If there is a shortage of technical work, consider creating a small forum called "Fun at Work." This group can plan various activities for the company, such as festival celebrations, organizing corporate games, fostering a fun work culture, or starting and maintaining a wall magazine.

3) Assign a case study on Organizational Development. Collaborate with heads of different departments to identify problem areas, and then assign projects to find innovative solutions under the guidance of a senior member. This approach allows employees to conduct projects as case studies that will ultimately benefit the organization.

Before assigning any task, ensure that you understand their interests. I hope these suggestions address your concerns. Please feel free to reach out if you need further information.

Regards, Sarang Forscher Consultancy

[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Web: Forscher Consultancy

Having an employee not working for 4 hours is not acceptable. They need to be engaged in office work. The best solution is to ask them individually for an interview and pull out their job description. Give them a one-day head start to list their achievements so far, then have a brainstorming session on their achievements versus what tasks and activities you can derive from their job description. You need to go through:

- Their duties
- Their achievements
- What are their deliverables – tangible
- Their training
- Ongoing projects
- Any problems faced in their work progress

Solutions for Employee Engagement

One of the solutions for ensuring employees are always engaged in activities when they have nothing better to do could be one of the following uses of the organization's internet facility:

- **E-library:** Upload reading materials related to all business subjects for employees to expand their knowledge.
- **E-training:** Upload training materials employees can learn from, including handouts, slides, and videos.
- **Games:** Upload games to enhance intelligence, skills, and memory.

Congratulations, Sarang and Anayat, for contributing such amazing answers! I am voting for this thread. Repetitive jobs and downtime are the biggest productivity killers. The capability to focus during this duration is critical to the performance of the team post this phase. Some of the activities that can be implemented during such work hours are shared below:

- The team management needs to take into account +X and -X hours of downtime.
- The training department may plan short-term courses that can be completed within 25-30 hours or less.
- The need of the employees for training programs needs to be divided into broad categories such as Language Enhancement, Excel Training, Product Development Introduction, Quality Analysis - Basic-Level Training, etc.
- The study materials need to be distributed, and the programs need to be delivered during the identified downtime.
- Assessments may be deferred over a period of three months so that the employees can take them once they have covered the live sessions and study time required to clear the course.
- Websites such as the one mentioned ([link outdated-removed]) offer online courses for free, although there is no certification. You might arrange for an internal assessment to authenticate their learning. These are very basic-level courses that can be taken by anyone, irrespective of their backgrounds. Encourage them to figure out how they can implement it in their jobs.
- Cross-training by the team members: Focus on closing the skill gap. Often, one team member is more skilled than others. This is the time to encourage peer-to-peer learning. Arrange for a brainstorming session by the top performers and note how their measures can help others perform better.
- New Skill Addition: If your employees are working with clients from different nations, utilize this time to train your employees in one of those languages. Learning a foreign language doesn't conclude in 30 hours. However, initiating such a program induces interest among employees. Identify a teacher who can facilitate a crash course for your employees. Thereafter, they can enroll in basic and advanced level courses if they are willing to learn further.

These are defined measures. You will find more innovative ones as you brainstorm further.

Engaging Employees with No Immediate Work

Since no job is perfect in itself, in such situations, to engage employees having no work, they can be put to review their own work for further improvement and report the nature of improvements made. They can also be deployed to review the work of other colleagues or subordinates and give their suggestions on how to improve the quality of work. This way, they can not only realize their own shortcomings of the past but also make further suggestions to improve others' work quality. They can also be asked to assist other colleagues where there is an overload and pending work can be expected.

Dear All, I have noticed situations where a few (3-4) employees at times have no work at all. They cannot be shifted to different projects (IT solutions company) as there is a possibility that work might come in between (many times), and they have to be ready for it. However, at times, from the total work hours (8-9 hours a day), 75% of the time, they are on Facebook, Gmail chats, watching cricket info, trading in shares, and at times continuously planning for their honeymoon (a lady who is getting married in December). They visit some technical websites sometimes and read useful stuff, but they cannot keep doing it for 4 hours a day. They will get bored and lose interest even if what they are reading is important and interesting to them.

Can you suggest some useful activities that can take place for these people? They range from 1-3 years of work experience and work on the same technology and are in the same work team. I do not want to give them warnings or yell at them as it will only result in the continuation of their existing behavior in a hidden way. I would like to know of things that they would like to do (very doubtful) and at the same time, they get some learning out of it. This situation is faced in many companies. So, I would like all those people who have given a solution to add inputs in this. (We all have one-hand distance between our seats, all sit in the same way side-to-side, and facing each other, even the project managers).

Regards,
Ashlesha

Addressing Workplace Issues Professionally

It is important to address issues in the workplace in a professional and fair manner. If there are concerns about productivity and misuse of time, it is advisable to communicate expectations clearly and provide guidance on appropriate behaviors. Instead of immediately resorting to extreme measures such as terminating employees, consider implementing strategies to improve productivity and engagement. This could include setting clear performance goals, offering training and development opportunities, and fostering a positive work environment.

Handling Personal Matters with Sensitivity

Additionally, it is essential to handle personal matters, such as someone getting married, with sensitivity and respect. Everyone is entitled to their personal lives, and it is crucial to separate personal matters from work responsibilities. Encouraging a healthy work-life balance and creating a supportive workplace culture can lead to better employee satisfaction and performance.

Key Components for a Productive Work Environment

Ultimately, effective communication, setting expectations, and providing support are key components of managing a productive and harmonious work environment. Terminating employees should be a last resort after all other avenues have been explored.

There is nothing unethical in seeking suggestions about problems that you are facing in HR work. I feel sorry about the opinion that SHAIK ABDUL KHADIR has because the purpose of this website is to get relevant information from experienced professionals, and that has nothing to do with the competency of a person.