Most of us have found ourselves in work environments, where we had to work with colleagues, where they had to do a job, which they literally completed at the last minute. Perhaps, in some cases, we are, also, this type of partner. But, why do some of us complete our responsibilities immediately and quickly, while some others exhaust all the time given to them, until they complete them? Are they slow? Are they lazy? Or are they procrastinators? Let’s examine the latter case.
Work procrastination is the continuous postponement of the completion of our work tasks, as a result of which a problem is created in the smooth and orderly operation of business processes.
The reasons, that lead us to procrastinating behavior vary. Initially, a person might be procrastinating, because he or she needs to use a new technology machine or program, that he or she does not know well, with the result that his / her insecurity leads him / her to avoid using it. Another reason may be responsibility phobia. There are several employees, who avoid taking on a responsibility, so they are late, e.g. the signing of administrative documents, until they have no more time and are obliged to sign them. Another case is the fear of failure or success. In the first case, people feel, that they will do something wrong and for this reason they avoid performing the action, while in the second case they are afraid, that their successful action will result in the assignment of more tasks or the creation of high expectations or requirements by their superiors.
Sometimes procrastinating comportment derives from a lack of motivation. For better or worse, not all jobs are the same. Some are more interesting than others and some more important than others. So, an employee can leave behind some duties, which he/she considers insignificant or not particularly interesting and give priority to those, which he/she considers important or more interesting. Perfectionism is also a reason for procrastination. Perfectionists postpone their work until they think, that everything will be perfect. Otherwise, they will not complete it, unless they are forced to do so due to a deadline. One last reason for work procrastination is that some people work and perform better under pressure. The adrenaline, which is created, makes them alert and leads them to high work performance and, therefore, they deliberately perform their responsibilities at the last minute.
Whatever the reason is for work procrastination, it is certain, that it creates some negative emotions with anxious predominant and then stress, low self-esteem, irritability, guilt, bad mood and in some people can contribute and in the manifestation of depression.
Therefore, work procrastination on the one hand affects our work performance and productivity and on the other hand our work psychology. Both have a negative effect on our working relationships, as we do not gain the trust and appreciation of our colleagues. Our superiors do not believe that we can quickly, efficiently and with high performance perform the tasks or projects, where they would like to assign us, while our colleagues do not think that they can “rely” on us, that we will complete our responsibilities in time, so that the corporate processes move smoothly and without problems.
Fortunately, work procrastination is not an incurable disease. On the contrary, it is an acquired behavior, which we can, if not eliminate, certainly reduce to a great extent. This can be achieved by doing the following:
- To better organize our work schedule (responsibilities and time), so that our duties are completed as soon as possible and not at the last minute.
- To set priorities. Which tasks are urgent and important?
- Set realistic goals. If we are perfectionists and can’t achieve perfection, then let us achieve the best possible result.
- To look for what it is, which scares us and holds us back. The fear of success? Of failure; Or taking responsibility? Once we find out, then we need to work on it so that it does not become an obstacle.
- To record the benefits and costs of our work procrastination, so that we can evaluate whether it is in our interest or not to maintain it.
- Identify procrastinating thoughts, so that we can reject them. For instance, in a procrastinating thought: “It does not matter, I will do it tomorrow” a good answer would be: “Better to finish it today, so that I do not have it for tomorrow and if a problem arises I have time to solve it ».
- Reward ourselves every time we do not procrastinate a work action. In this way, on the one hand we will animate ourselves and on the other hand we will be mobilize for the next time.
It is worth emphasizing that, like all things, work procrastination is a two-sided currency. One side has a positive sign, as it helps us to avoid mistakes and make impulsive decisions, while the other side has a negative sign, as it helps to delay actions with adverse consequences for us. The truth is, we have all been procrastinators more or less in our workplace. The aim is to evaluate each case individually, whether the work procrastination works in our favor or at our expenses and to act accordingly.
This article contains copyright. Reproduction of all or part of this article may be done with the consent of the author or with reference to the website www.marialykousi.gr. The first publication was made at www.psychology.gr on 07/28/2021.