The state of workplace distractions

Email notifications pop up. Your mother calls… again. Co-workers around you won’t stop talking. And the desire to check Instagram to see if you’ve hit 100 likes on your picture of lunch grows stronger as the day goes on. Workplace distractions are everywhere. But you might be surprised by which distractions a study by US-based consultant BambooHR found to be the most time consuming.

Although social media and technology have become dominating forces in our workplace, traditional distractions have not been outpaced. The top three interruptions are:
1 Taking breaks to the kitchen/water cooler/break room (other than for lunch)
2 Taking trips to the bathroom
3 Participating in small talk/gossip with co-workers

And surprisingly, upper management takes the cake when it comes to who is most distracted.
• 10% more upper management employees spend 30 minutes or more each workday taking trips to the water cooler or break room than lower management employees.
• 7% more upper management spend 30 minutes or more each workday taking bathroom breaks than their subordinates.
• 7% more managers also spend 30 minutes or more each workday talking to friends than lower management employees.

Surprisingly, a lot of people are becoming more accepting of distractions as part of a productive workday. While 20% of employees reported that workplace distractions hinder performance, 18% said interruptions actually enhance it.

Download the full infographic HERE for more detailed results.