If you do establish new policies, be sure you emphasize all the options that the employees do have, not what you are taking away. For example, limiting at-work birthday parties to 15 minutes is not unreasonable. A simple announcement of cake in the break room at a certain time shouldn’t result in an all-afternoon gabfest. If employees want to spend more time, they can hold these parties on their own time, which is what they should be doing anyway. Employees can use their lunch hours or the time just after work if they want more time to celebrate.

• Identify the greatest time wasters and jointly develop strategies to
limit these activities. Social gadflies will not change completely. It is in their nature to engage in a flutter of social activity, so go with it—with some built-in restraints. Ask the gadfly to make a list of all the nice things he does for the department. Ask him to put a check by any that involve phone calls, conversations, or activities during work hours. Now, ask him to identify the top three that affect work hours. Ask the gadfly to brainstorm with you some methods of executing these activities that do not affect work time as much. Ask the gadfly to consider delegating these activities or passing the baton to someone else. Suggest that some of these activities might take place during lunch or break. Focusing on the time lost on three activities feels less punitive to an employee than limiting all activities.

Whether they are distracted by social events or spacey by nature,
unfocused employees will ultimately benefit from interventions that refocus them on their careers.

Taken From: 201 Ways to Turn Any Employee Into a STAR Performer