Dive Brief:
- In a Robert Half survey, 32% of employees said their biggest distractions at work are chatting and socializing with coworkers.
- Nonbusiness-related internet use was the next largest distraction at 25%, followed by meetings (23%), personal calls or emails (9%), and work-related emails (6%).
- A small percentage of respondents (6%) said they weren't sure what their biggest distractions are.
Dive Insight:
This isn't the first time socializing has been identified as a top distraction. A Udemy survey released in March also revealed that socializing with coworkers is workers' biggest distraction; in that survey, however, it was followed by noise in the office, overwhelming changes in the workplace and social media.
Putting an end to office chat, non-work related Internet use and personal calls is likely neither practical or possible. But HR can get managers to do something about lengthy or unnecessary meetings, which were a distraction for 60% of respondents in the Udemy survey and almost a quarter of those in the Robert Half survey.
Additionally, while work chat technology can also be a distraction, it is one way that some employers have cut down on meetings, as it allows workers to communicate with each other instantly. Such tech tools also allow projects to be assigned, accepted and monitored on the fly, an increasingly necessary aspect of managing a remote or flexible workforce.
