Does Multitasking Help or Hurt Workplace Productivity?

There is an ongoing debate over multitasking; some argue it leads to an unproductive workplace, and others contend it saves money.

“We often brag about the benefits of multitasking,” business consultant Barry Moltz said in a recent statement. “Whether it’s talking on the phone while we are in the car or answering email while on a conference call, we are constantly moving faster and faster.  The modern business person says it’s the way to get things done…is this fact or fiction?”

Ruth Mayhew, in a recent Houston Chronicle article, claims that “multitasking employees can be a goldmine for small businesses.” Employees who have “cross-functional expertise or the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously” are a real find for some businesses.

“Hiring multitasking employees eliminates the need for training multiple employees in several areas,” she said. “Employees who are familiar with various segments of business operations generally require shorter training sessions or less intensive training than employees who are highly specialized or employees who don't have the versatility to succeed in a number of different work areas.”

In addition, multitasking employees can have an easier time at using technology and office equipment. The multitasker can quickly pick up some technology-based skills.

An employee who can multitask can also be assigned two staff positions. That means lower benefit costs at a small business.

In still another report, published in Springer’s Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, a new study by Kelvin Lui and Alan Wong, who teach at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, argues “those who frequently use different types of media at the same time appear to be better at integrating information from multiple senses – vision and hearing in this instance – when asked to perform a specific task.”

In the study – involving a tone – participants who media multitasked “tended to be more efficient at multisensory integration.” Taking in information from different sources “made it easier for them to use the unexpected auditory signal in the task with tone, leading to a large improvement in performance in the presence of the tone.”

On the negative side, multitaskers often pay attention to sources of information “without sufficient focus on the information most relevant to the task at hand,” the study explains.

Also, MoItz warns in a statement he is “addicted to multitasking. I am convinced it will be my downfall. I always try to accomplish too much in too short a period of time. Quality suffers. My sanity suffers.”

“We are living in an interruption-based culture,” Moltz said in a video. He claims, too, that there is a study which shows “multitasking actually causes brain damage.” He argues, too, against focusing too much on social media.

If smaller businesses are looking for ways to improve efficiency, one option may be to install a business VoIP phone system.

Voxsun says a VoIP system can save time. For example, voicemails can be forwarded to an e-mail address. Automation is another benefit from business VoIP, virtual-pbx adds. In the case of a call center, the auto-dialer streamlines connection attempts. Employees can work from anywhere, too. The improved efficiency can lead to savings, as well.

Edited by Rachel Ramsey