Cara Loverock
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, January 30, 2008

YELLOWKNIFE - Gossip, office politics, voice mail and e-mail were just a few of the factors people said keep them from getting work done, according to a recent national workplace survey by RBC and conducted by Ipsos Reid.

Breanne Fancy, a front desk receptionist with Yellowknife Inn, said her major distraction at work is getting unnecessary phone calls. - Cara Loverock/ NNSL photo

The biggest obstructions to productivity the workers cited were too little time and too much red tape. Other major factors reported were unclear expectations, lack of resources, and a boss or manager that somehow impedes productivity.

Yellowknifer spoke to a few Northern workers who said the compulsion to check e-mail and surf the web was a big factor keeping them from staying on task during the workday.

Breanne Fancy, a front desk receptionist, said unnecessary phone calls are her major complaint when trying to work.

"We get a lot of people phoning and hanging up," she said.

Brad Kickham, who works for Air Tindi blames winter.

"The cold weather, since I work outside," he said, adding this is especially true with the extreme cold the city has seen lately.

Eleanor Gallant, chief of human resources for the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, said other people are the main cause of her lost productivity.

"Noise, people chatting or playing music, but mainly people talking," said Gallant.

A quintessential Northern answer came from one man who didn't give his name. He said the lack of sunlight in winter keeps him from getting down to business.

"You look outside and it's dark," he said. "It makes you forget what you're supposed to be doing."