Feature/OPED
Workplace: Handling Digital Distractions
By Timi Olubiyi, Ph.D
Social media distraction is a term only synonymous with living in the information age and it’s a huge and growing challenge in the workplace and business.
Imagine a driver tweeting while behind the wheel to the office or an employee texting and updating status on social media at the same time in a board room meeting.
Social media and the internet are both very common and are used a lot at work; however, not always in the right way. Nowadays, in the workplace, it is very easy to lose precious hours to digital distractions.
Business success requires a high degree of focus from employees; however, it is now extremely difficult to find an employee sit down in the office and complete an entire task or project start to finish without distractions.
Such distractions can include emails or texts, checking or surfing the internet, socializing online, updating Facebook status, tweeting, attending to notifications and even with colleagues crashing through the door to gossip.
For irrelevancy reasons, devices and technology are becoming more and more workplace distraction aids. Though it can help to multitask majorly, it definitely harms creativity, work productivity, and overall company performance.
The digital activities in which we most commonly engage—internet surfing, emails, Facebooking, WhatsApp texting—can compete for the same mental bandwidth that is demanded by the job schedule.
Even though social media is not entirely required to work effectively, use without caution can hurt creativity, which is one of the essential human traits, not to mention one of our most valuable skills as creative things. It diminishes or lost altogether with digital overload and distractions.
Many Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) operators and entrepreneurs express concern that technological distractions make it difficult to be highly productive.
Studies have also shown that members of staff who switch back and forth between tasks, such as chatting and texting, can lose up to 50 per cent of efficiency and accuracy.
According to reliable statistics, distraction causes a massive loss in business productivity. Also, evidenced by a survey, distraction costs hundreds of billions of Naira a year in productivity loss.
Even though there are many benefits to using technology in business and the workplace, every organisation strives to maximize the return on the use and minimize wasted hours.
Technological advances have aided business improvements in many ways, but they have also brought about distraction challenges. Even at home these days, more time is spent on a phone or laptop instead of interacting with his wife and kids.
It is, therefore, safe to say that digital distraction brings about the culture of constant connection to digital devices and platforms – desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones and so on to the point that it takes a toll both professional and personal life.
Switching among email, the internet, and social media shreds attention and robs of time and focus. Besides, not all technology use in the workplace is beneficial.
Significantly, productivity is what every employer, SME operator or entrepreneur demands from employees; however, workplace productivity has been a top issue for human resources professionals. Meanwhile, high productivity is capable of boosting the business bottom line and even economic growth and its low level may equally slow down the business growth and also impact negatively on economic development.
These days, most of these technology devices have applications and software that causes distractions. So much waste of time, attention, and energy is given to relatively unimportant information, thereby affecting creativity, productivity thereby contributing little or no value to the organization.
These days, scrolling through social media when staff should be working on a project or task is very common in the workplace. Amongst the SME operators surveyed recently in Lagos State, Nigeria, the SME hub and economic nerve centre of the country, 80 per cent of them confirm that 4 in 6 employees are distracted during work hours daily. The survey also reveals that employees nowadays are more distracted than ever before.
Smartphones, social media and texting were confirmed from the study as the top productivity and creativity killer by the respondents.
From the survey, 66 per cent of SME operators/employers said that their staff uses their smartphones several times per day when on duty, most time on unrelated subjects and irrelevancies, causing several hours a day of productivity loss.
The survey in Lagos State also reveals that employees averagely pick up smartphone devices every 12 minutes or even less when at work. By estimation, that is roughly 40 times during one day’s 8-hour work period.
Consequently, what can managers do to combat productivity losses caused by these distractions and interruptions? This narrative is the main focus of this very article.
Agreeably, the digital distraction trap happens in businesses across all industries and affects workers of all age groups. It has also been proven that this distraction and technology-induced interruption can lead to being absent-minded and forgetting tasks at work.
Research has also shown that the longer an interruption lasts, the more information relating to the task at hand will be forgotten. Invariably, much of our most important work requires deep focus and time to think,” said Robby MacDonnell, CEO of RescueTime. Technological and digital distractions rob SME operators/employers of productivity and performance greatly annually.
For the avoidance of doubt, the solution to avert workplace distraction or concentration problem is not the total removal of the technology or devices, but learning to be disciplined with the usage and removing addictiveness. This is because there are some work activities to do with these mandatory tools. Total blockage at work might even affect the productivity of staff and the overall performance of businesses.
Having distractions at a low level is a way to get the maximum out of the worker. One good strategy for employees and individuals is by adopting the common-sense approach, which requires setting clear priorities to achieve daily.
Employees can control digital overload rather than letting the distractions take control completely. Self-auditing time spent on social media, surfing the internet or scrolling emails and instant messages are important. Live notification and “instant answers” to every communication should be balanced with setting daily realistic priorities.
Time management experts have also suggested batching communications into specific blocks during the day, while others have suggested committing to hours of focused work without email or chats during parts of the day like early in the morning.
Social media especially has become a main workplace distraction. At the corporate or company level, companies need to formulate, publish and communicate policies that specifically explain how social media and some applications can be used in the workplace.
The policy can include phone communication culture during meetings, active working hours, or some social media sites can be locked or regulated.
More so, the introduction of procedures that can boost employee productivity can also be introduced. Companies need to adapt quickly to these policy formulations to control social media usage.
In the absence of such regulations, workplace productivity can continue to suffer. Companies and entrepreneurs should also ensure that the task given to the worker fills their working hours.
To sum it up, on average human resources makeup above 50 per cent of the entire operating costs in most businesses around, particularly SMEs.
Adequately managing the workforce holds the key for companies to maintain and increase their profitability.
Consequently, having a social media policy for your business or organisation is essential in making sure employees know what they should and should not do on the internet and social channels.
Invariably, with 21st century also known as the information age, workplace distractions are only going to grow, but the pragmatic and crucial thing for business managers to do is to lead by a good example, show good leadership by following the formulated business or social media policy so that employees would take it seriously.
So, if you require any form of help to address a question like “how can my organisation have a standardized social media policy?” Then you might need to get across to the author. Good luck!
How may you obtain advice or further information on the article?
Dr Timi Olubiyi is an Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management expert. He is a prolific investment coach, business engineer, Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI), and a financial literacy specialist. He can be reached on the twitter handle @drtimiolubiyi and via email: [email protected], for any questions, reactions, and comments.
By Luke Kyohere
The global payments landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation. New technologies coupled with the rising demand for seamless, secure, and efficient transactions has spurred on an exciting new era of innovation and growth. With 2025 fast approaching, here are important trends that will shape the future of payments:
1. The rise of real-time payments
Until recently, real-time payments have been used in Africa for cross-border mobile money payments, but less so for traditional payments. We are seeing companies like Mastercard investing in this area, as well as central banks in Africa putting focus on this.
2. Cashless payments will increase
In 2025, we will see the continued acceleration of cashless payments across Africa. B2B payments in particular will also increase. Digital payments began between individuals but are now becoming commonplace for larger corporate transactions.
3. Digital currency will hit mainstream
In the cryptocurrency space, we will see an increase in the use of stablecoins like United States Digital Currency (USDC) and Tether (USDT) which are linked to US dollars. These will come to replace traditional cryptocurrencies as their price point is more stable. This year, many countries will begin preparing for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), government-backed digital currencies which use blockchain.
The increased uptake of digital currencies reflects the maturity of distributed ledger technology and improved API availability.
4. Increased government oversight
As adoption of digital currencies will increase, governments will also put more focus into monitoring these flows. In particular, this will centre on companies and banks rather than individuals. The goal of this will be to control and occasionally curb runaway foreign exchange (FX) rates.
5. Business leaders buy into AI technology
In 2025, we will see many business leaders buying into AI through respected providers relying on well-researched platforms and huge data sets. Most companies don’t have the budget to invest in their own research and development in AI, so many are now opting to ‘buy’ into the technology rather than ‘build’ it themselves. Moreover, many businesses are concerned about the risks associated with data ownership and accuracy so buying software is another way to avoid this risk.
6. Continued AI Adoption in Payments
In payments, the proliferation of AI will continue to improve user experience and increase security. To detect fraud, AI is used to track patterns and payment flows in real-time. If unusual activity is detected, the technology can be used to flag or even block payments which may be fraudulent.
When it comes to user experience, we will also see AI being used to improve the interface design of payment platforms. The technology will also increasingly be used for translation for international payment platforms.
7. Rise of Super Apps
To get more from their platforms, mobile network operators are building comprehensive service platforms, integrating multiple payment experiences into a single app. This reflects the shift of many users moving from text-based services to mobile apps. Rather than offering a single service, super apps are packing many other services into a single app. For example, apps which may have previously been used primarily for lending, now have options for saving and paying bills.
8. Business strategy shift
Recent major technological changes will force business leaders to focus on much shorter prediction and reaction cycles. Because the rate of change has been unprecedented in the past year, this will force decision-makers to adapt quickly, be decisive and nimble.
As the payments space evolves, businesses, banks, and governments must continually embrace innovation, collaboration, and prioritise customer needs. These efforts build a more inclusive, secure, and efficient payment system that supports local to global economic growth – enabling true financial inclusion across borders.
Luke Kyohere is the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq
In a heartfelt statement released today, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) has extended its warmest congratulations to Ghana’s President-Elect, emphasizing the importance of learning from Ghana’s recent electoral success as Nigeria gears up for its 2027 general elections.
In a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade James Ezema, the CNPP highlighted the need for Nigeria to reclaim its status as a leader in democratic governance in Africa.
“The recent victory of Ghana’s President-Elect is a testament to the maturity and resilience of Ghana’s democracy,” the CNPP stated. “As we celebrate this achievement, we must reflect on the lessons that Nigeria can learn from our West African neighbour.”
The CNPP’s message underscored the significance of free, fair, and credible elections, a standard that Ghana has set and one that Nigeria has previously achieved under former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. “It is high time for Nigeria to reclaim its position as a beacon of democracy in Africa,” the CNPP asserted, calling for a renewed commitment to the electoral process.
Central to CNPP’s message is the insistence that “the will of the people must be supreme in Nigeria’s electoral processes.” The umbrella body of all registered political parties and political associations in Nigeria CNPP emphasized the necessity of an electoral system that genuinely reflects the wishes of the Nigerian populace. “We must strive to create an environment where elections are free from manipulation, violence, and intimidation,” the CNPP urged, calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take decisive action to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.
The CNPP also expressed concern over premature declarations regarding the 2027 elections, stating, “It is disheartening to note that some individuals are already announcing that there is no vacancy in Aso Rock in 2027. This kind of statement not only undermines the democratic principles that our nation holds dear but also distracts from the pressing need for the current administration to earn the trust of the electorate.”
The CNPP viewed the upcoming elections as a pivotal moment for Nigeria. “The 2027 general elections present a unique opportunity for Nigeria to reclaim its position as a leader in democratic governance in Africa,” it remarked. The body called on all stakeholders — including the executive, legislature, judiciary, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and civil society organisations — to collaborate in ensuring that elections are transparent, credible, and reflective of the will of the Nigerian people.
As the most populous African country prepares for the 2027 elections, the CNPP urged all Nigerians to remain vigilant and committed to democratic principles. “We must work together to ensure that our elections are free from violence, intimidation, and manipulation,” the statement stated, reaffirming the CNPP’s commitment to promoting a peaceful and credible electoral process.
In conclusion, the CNPP congratulated the President-Elect of Ghana and the Ghanaian people on their remarkable achievements.
“We look forward to learning from their experience and working together to strengthen democracy in our region,” the CNPP concluded.
By Kenechukwu Aguolu
The proposed tax reform, involving four tax bills introduced by the Federal Government, has received significant criticism. Notably, it was rejected by the Governors’ Forum but was still forwarded to the National Assembly. Unlike the various bold economic decisions made by this government, concessions will likely need to be made on these tax reforms, which involve legislative amendments and therefore cannot be imposed by the executive. This article highlights the purposes of taxation, the qualities of a good tax system, and some of the implications of the proposed tax reforms.
One of the major purposes of taxation is to generate revenue for the government to finance its activities. A good tax system should raise sufficient revenue for the government to fund its operations, and support economic and infrastructural development. For any country to achieve meaningful progress, its tax-to-GDP ratio should be at least 15%. Currently, Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio is less than 11%. The proposed tax reforms aim to increase this ratio to 18% within the next three years.
A good tax system should also promote income redistribution and equality by implementing progressive tax policies. In line with this, the proposed tax reforms favour low-income earners. For example, individuals earning less than one million naira annually are exempted from personal income tax. Additionally, essential goods and services such as food, accommodation, and transportation, which constitute a significant portion of household consumption for low- and middle-income groups, are to be exempted from VAT.
In addition to equality, a good tax system should ensure equity and fairness, a key area of contention surrounding the proposed reforms. If implemented, the amendments to the Value Added Tax could lead to a significant reduction in the federal allocation for some states; impairing their ability to finance government operations and development projects. The VAT amendments should be holistically revisited to promote fairness and national unity.
The establishment of a single agency to collect government taxes, the Nigeria Revenue Service, could reduce loopholes that have previously resulted in revenue losses, provided proper controls are put in place. It is logically easier to monitor revenue collection by one agency than by multiple agencies. However, this is not a magical solution. With automation, revenue collection can be seamless whether it is managed by one agency or several, as long as monitoring and accountability measures are implemented effectively.
The proposed tax reforms by the Federal Government are well-intentioned. However, all concerns raised by Nigerians should be looked into, and concessions should be made where necessary. Policies are more effective when they are adapted to suit the unique characteristics of a nation, rather than adopted wholesale. A good tax system should aim to raise sufficient revenue, ensure equitable income distribution, and promote equality, equity, and fairness.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism8 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking6 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN