Work/Life Trends
Workers Cite Biggest Productivity Barriers

Asked to name the single biggest barrier to on-the-job productivity last year, the majority of workers cite being “overloaded,” according to a recent LifeCare poll. Thirty-nine percent of all workers responding to the online poll said that they simply didn't have enough time to accomplish all of their tasks. Here are the full results of the poll, conducted throughout the month of January on LifeCare's private web site among the employees of its 1,500 client organizations.

Looking back over 2007, what was the single biggest barrier you faced in fulfilling your job responsibilities?

	Overloaded/didn't have the time necessary to accomplish all of my tasks — 39%
	Basic job expectations were never made clear to me — 12%
	Pay/rewards not appropriate — 8%
	Child care issues — 7%
	Politics/personal conflicts — 7%
	Elder care issues — 6%
	Didn't have the proper tools or equipment — 6%

Another 15 percent cited “other” reasons (each response represented less than one percent) including personal health issues, personal relationship issues, general stress, a long commuting time, and inadequate training.

LifeCare conducted the same poll one year ago. While the top response was nearly identical—“overloaded” at 40%—the other responses varied:

	Pay/rewards not appropriate — 15%
	Politics/personal conflicts — 11%
	Basic job expectations were never made clear to me — 5%
	Didn't have the proper tools or equipment — 4%
	Child or elder care issues — 4%
	Other reasons — 21%