Australian office workers more distracted than ever

Office workers are more distracted than ever, with the use of multiple tools and exposure to environmental disruptions, such as workplace chatter and mobile phones, being the primary causes, according to a new study.

The study, commissioned by LogMeIn subsidiary GoTo, explored the working habits of 2000 employees across Australia, the US, UK, France, Germany and India.

Of environmental distractions, loud conversations, personal phones and personal email were the top offenders, according to 55%, 43% and 35% of Australian survey respondents, respectively.

In fact, almost all Australian respondents (97%) said they’d looked at their mobile phone for personal reasons during work hours — 3% more than the international respondents. GoTo said 64% of Australians browsed social media, while 31% had looked at online shopping and 24% had logged into sport sites.

Only 3% of Australians admitted to looking at dating sites while at work, compared to 21% internationally.

Collaboration tools were also found to affect productivity, with 43% of workers agreeing that switching between multiple, siloed tools for different tasks wastes time.

Australian respondents use an average of 2.55 different tools to collaborate with co-workers in a typical work day and 61% of workers have at least five computer programs, including workplace tools, apps and management programs.

Although there’s no single way to remove all distractions at work, LogMeIn Vice President Asia Pacific Lindsay Brown believes consolidating tools and putting flexible working policies in place could help “dramatically cut down on diversions to help workers better focus on their tasks and drive productivity”.

“Providing staff with the trust and flexibility to work remotely means empowering them to put themselves in the ideal environment to minimise outside distractions, either from the office or their own devices, and better focus on their work when and where they are most productive,” he said.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/georgejmclittle