The Top 10 Productivity Killers at Work Are…
June 30, 2014
By Deanna Hartley
Whether you call it multitasking, recharging or just good ol’ fashioned procrastinating, we’ve all been guilty of taking a minute here and there during the work day to refresh our Facebook feed, check the latest World Cup scores or run out to grab a cupcake. But which of these distractions cut into U.S. workers’ daily productivity the most? In a new CareerBuilder survey, employers reveal the top 10 productivity killers at work.
More than 1 in 4 (24 percent) workers aren’t afraid to spend at least an hour of the work day jumping on personal calls or sending personal emails or texts. Meanwhile, more than 1 in 5 (21 percent) admit that they spend about an hour or more online engaging in non-work-related activities.
Here’s a breakdown of the top 10 productivity killers at work, according to employers.
- Cell phone/texting — 50 percent.
- Gossip — 42 percent.
- The Internet — 39 percent.
- Social media — 38 percent.
- Snack breaks or smoke breaks — 27 percent.
- Noisy co-workers — 24 percent.
- Meetings — 23 percent.
- Email — 23 percent.
- Co-workers dropping by — 23 percent.
- Co-workers putting calls on speaker phone — 10 percent.