Distracted In the Office? New Study Finds You're Not Alone

By Shalene Gupta, Fast Company (TNS)

In a world full of pinging email boxes, whizzing Slack notifications, and buzzing phones, focus is perhaps the most precious resource for employees.

Workplace analytics software company Insightful conducted a study of 1,200 employees and managers in the United States to understand the challenges of staying focused at work. The survey asked participants about the frequency and sources of distractions, the impact of digital tools, and the impact of remote work on focus.

Here are the key findings:

Focus is the biggest productivity challenge at work: 92% of employees said losing focus is a problem at their organization. About 80% said they can’t go a full hour without being distracted, and 11% say they are distracted every five minutes. Meanwhile, a quarter of managers say lack of focus causes employees to lose at least 25% of the workweek.
The office is not conducive to focus: 71% of respondents said their coworkers are the main reason they can’t focus, 62% said phone notifications, and 32% said email. Meanwhile, 54% of managers said remote work actually increased employee focus, and 40% of employees agreed.
The future is not promising: 64% of managers said the biggest challenge of working with Gen Z is they lack focus, and 60% said they are on their phones too often.

“Our findings reveal that distractions—both digital and interpersonal—are widespread, significantly affecting employee performance and efficiency,” the report’s authors wrote. “The research shows that traditional offices with rigid schedules and frequent interruptions are no longer conducive to deep, focused work. Instead, flexible work arrangements, fair compensation, and support from leadership are shown to improve the employees’ ability to focus.”

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