Brits are wasting the work day

British employees are spending too much of their day procrastinating, according to new research. Figures by Reboot Online reveal that many Brits are wasting their work day by avoiding the tasks they’ve been told to do and burning up more than a whole day of work per work.

Workers across the UK admitted they spend around two hours a day distracted, meaning that many employees are only working for less than three quarters of the hours they’re paid for. Each week, bosses could be paying out for their staff to check on their social media for more than three hours per worker, as well as an additional half hour spent surfing other websites and articles. Away from the desk, each day it was found that workers spend up to half an hour using the toilet facilities and making hot drinks, while 25 minutes a day were taken up chatting with colleagues.

To combat this, bosses are clamping down on social media and phone usage in the workplace, although not successfully. 77% of employees ignored the social media bans anyway, and other offices identified it was easier to allow staff phone breaks to boost productivity by regulating use rather than banning it altogether.

“Although the results are quite shocking, it’s important to avoid any knee jerk reactions and understand that some ‘off time’ could have an overall beneficial effect on productivity in the workplace,” said Shai, Managing Director of Reboot Online. “Saying that, it does need to be kept under control and if staff members are found to abuse the freedom given to them, this needs to be brought up at the appropriate time.”

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