I was making my horrific holiday commute from exit 1 to 7 in Danbury, CT yesterday to visit my family for the holiday weekend. Making sure I finished up with my last client before 4pm so I could avoid the holiday rush, I nonetheless was caught up amongst some of the most insane and incompetent driving I ever see on the planet.
What always baffles me is why people go about 70 miles an hour and then go to a dead stop behind cars without regard for the people behind them or in front of them. Thankfully, the drivers around me followed my lead and drove a steady 10-20 miles per hour through all of the mess to avoid having these stops and starts when possible.
Sure enough, there was no accident on the road, but it took 30 minutes to get through this stretch because of all the stop and go traffic.
About 20 years ago, I remember there being signs saying “No Stopping” along this stretch, but to this day, I have yet to hear of someone who has received a ticket for speeding into traffic and coming to a dead stop in the highway.
If laws like this were enforced, these type of issues on the roads would be avoided. Similarly, in the workplace, if simple rules that aren’t thought of enough were enforced, we’d have a more productive workplace.
What’s your equivalent of the “No Stopping” law in the workplace? Think of internet usage, unauthorized breaks, lateness, and others that hamper productivity, and see how you can enforce them to ensure that the workplace is a place of value to everyone.
