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PLUMBING CONNECTION
SPRING 2016
IS SOCIAL MEDIA THE NEW COFFEE
AND CIGARETTE BREAK?
P
eople have always used distractions to get away from
work that they feel overwhelmed or bored with. Back
in the day when I worked onsite, I had a tendency to
take bathroom breaks when I didn’t need them. It wasn’t as if
anyone could stop me and say “Just hold it till the job’s done
mate.”
I worked with great guys and they were all brilliant
plumbers, but they must have thought I had a bladder of an
80 year old.
Times have changed and now with technology advancing,
we have other forms of distraction available to us.
Unfortunately they’re more accessible and prevalent than
ever. One of the biggest impacts of this technology is the
way we communicate with others. Instead of calling a friend
to catch up, we send a Facebook message, Tweet, Snapchat
or text message.
We are more connected than ever, but in the process have
we lost our connection to each other?
Inefficient labour impacts the economy as a whole and can
ANDY FARRELL
DISCUSSES THE IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE WORKSITE AND INTRODUCES THE IDEA OF IT
POTENTIALLY AFFECTING JOB ESTIMATIONS BECAUSE OF LABOUR HOURS BEING DRAWN OUT.
cost your business thousands of dollars each year which can
have a direct impact on your profit margins.
Surfing the net and checking Facebook used to be limited
to those who worked in the office, but now we all have a mini
computer in our pocket that has 24/7 access to the internet.
The potential to become distracted and procrastinate from
the task at hand has become far too easy.
I call it ‘the time funnel’.
Here is an example of how social media can be so
distracting:
You pull out your phone and open the Facebook app, and
discover that one of your friends has posted a photo of their
kid’s birthday party on the weekend, so you write a quick
comment to make them feel good.
While you’re there you scroll down the ‘news feed’ to find a
hilarious video of a screaming goat (you would be surprised
how many there are). You click on the video which diverts
to Youtube where you watch the two minute clip of the goat
mimicking a screaming child; seems harmless right? But,
ESTIMATING
ANDY FARRELL