INTHEBLACK February 2023 - Magazine - Page 54
F E AT U R E
job performance (which may have an
impact on salary and rewards), shorter
tenure in each position, reduced workplace
opportunities for development or
progression, increased mental health issues
due to stress and emotional exhaustion,
and difficulty in finding their next job.
“Employers can experience reduced
productivity, output and sales, lower employee
performance, slow employee development
and agility to learn, missed deadlines, low
quality work or an increase in errors, and
an increase in low morale and a lack of
collaboration.”
SURPRISE – THERE ARE BENEFITS?
However, some experts believe that
procrastination may offer some benefits, too.
“There are benefits to everything we
humans do – that’s why we have evolved
to still be doing them!” Lishman says.
“Procrastination does slow us down for
some tasks, which gives us more time to think
54 INTHEBLACK February 2023
over some of the things we need to do. It
makes us spend time on problem solving.
“Mulling over a task might give us more
thinking time to come up with a better way of
doing it, and it might be giving you valuable
information about what you should be doing
more of in your life and what you shouldn’t.”
For others, procrastinating might be
beneficial if they thrive under time
pressure, adds Knowles.
“Some people work more efficiently if they
leave doing a task until the last minute,” he
says. “They might find that if they start the
task early, they muck around and struggle
to focus. If they leave it to the last minute,
they work much more productively.”
HOW TO STAY FOCUSED
In some ways, if you are a procrastinator, it
suggests you are one of the lucky ones who has
the option to delay tasks and activities.
“While procrastination is prevalent in all
types of positions, industries and levels, it is