Houston expert: How to leverage this viral trend to boost performance of your workforce
guest column
Trending corporate weapon videos portray the time in the day when employees put down their phone, ignore distractions, and accomplish a high volume of work in a short period. Influencers are also discussing their “daily corporate weapon timeline,” which describes the ebbs and flows in their productivity throughout their day.
Managers can implement a few strategies to leverage corporate weapon mode for performance management.
Discuss performance with your team
Corporate weapon is an avenue to discuss performance and time management with your staff. The videos have attracted attention because professionals find them relatable, hybrid, and remote workers in particular.
Even if you do not send your employees corporate weapon videos, you can nonetheless begin a conversation about daily ebbs and flows in productivity. Personal factors such as child care duties, commute time and circadian rhythm can influence an individual’s daily productivity timeline. Your team can improve their collaboration through understanding one another’s workflows and optimizing team schedules to maximize productivity.
Address digital distraction
Remote work can help employees cultivate a distraction-free environment. That said, phones can become a distraction whether your employees work in the office or at home. In corporate weapon videos, professionals usually put their phones away before focusing fully on their work.
Statistics reveal that many professionals struggle with online distractions. Research from nonprofit Screen Education has suggested that on average, workers spend 2.5 hours a day accessing digital content unrelated to their work.
Managers should proactively address digital distractions with their teams in a non-judgmental tone way. They can also suggest time management tools, such as screen-limiting or time-tracking software, so employees can understand how they might use their time more effectively.
Encourage employees to enter deep focus
Corporate weapon mode illustrates how crucial deep focus is to performance management. When an individual is in deep focus, they are focusing only on the task at hand without distractions.
Too many meetings can limit opportunities for employees to perform deep focus work. In fact, research from the Harvard Business Review shows that when 76 businesses cut back on meetings by 40 percent, employee productivity went up 71 percent. In addition, employee satisfaction rose 52 percent.
One option to allow additional time for deep focus is to designate some days or time as “meeting-free” company-wide. Managers can help, too, by encouraging their team to block off windows on their calendars for independent work, which will not require the organization to change its overall policies.
More than a TikTok trend, corporate weapon mode is a chance for leaders to initiate a transparent discussion with their staff. Through more effective time management, employees can optimize their performance and contribute to business success.
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Jill Chapman is a director of early talent programs with Insperity, a leading provider of human resources and business performance solutions.
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Omid Veiseh is professor of bioengineering and faculty director of the Rice Biotech Launch Pad. Photo courtesy Rice University