As initiatives get bigger and headcounts get smaller at large organizations, business leaders are challenged to do more with less. Despite their best efforts, it's easy for productivity to tank when time-wasting workplace conventions and habits continue.

Common unproductive tasks can lead workers to spend less than half of their time on their main jobs, and research suggests that in an eight-hour day, the average worker is only productive for around three hours a day, according to Thrive Global.