Non-Work Related Chats, Internet Most Common Distractions at Work
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Siri Stafford/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — If you spend part of your work day chatting with fellow employees about non-work related matters or searching for stuff on the Internet, you’re not alone.
A new survey on the average American work day by CareerBuilder.com finds those two activities to be the most common office distractions:
- Chatting with co-workers about non-work related stuff: 34 percent
- Internet searches: 22 percent
- Loud co-workers: 18 percent
- Personal calls or emails: 17 percent
- Office drama: 15 percent
- Daydreaming: 11 percent
- Gossip: 7 percent
- Watching TV in the break room: 2 percent
- Not understanding how to do the work: 4 percent
Not surprising, the survey finds 41 percent of respondents admitting that they spend just six hours of an eight-hour day actually working. Employees were asked how much time they spend actually working on a daily basis:
- Eight hours: 38 percent
- Seven hours: 21 percent
- Six hours: 18 percent
- Five hours: 11 percent
- Four hours or less: 12 percent
The study of more than 3,900 U.S. workers was conducted online by Harris Interactive from Nov. 1 to Nov. 30, 2012.
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