Battling distractions: how employers can combat work distractions

BY JONELL PANTLITZ

You are at work, and your cell phone vibrates, so you check it.  A notification dings on your computer, so you check your Facebook notifications. Your friend who smokes ask you to go with them on their smoke break. Your colleague stops by your desk to tell you the latest work gossip. Work distractions are an issue with many workers around Canada.

Almost 60% of Canadians reported that they have battled with distractions at work. This result estimates that a total of two hours of productivity is lost each day, according to a new national survey instructed by iQ Offices, the largest Canadian-owned co-working company.

To collect the data for this survey, researchers asked 1,524 Canadians a wide array of questions about productivity in the workplace, and the results showed focus was a problem for employees across Canada. According to the iQ offices of the 1,500+ Canadians, the vast majority (57%) of Canadian adults agree “It’s easy to get distracted in my workplace.” Those under 35 are most distracted – a massive 68% agreed.

The top Canadian productivity drains at work is said to be the following, talk-a-holics. When asked to identify “What challenges my productivity the most,” Canadians said loud talkers and “talk-a-holic” colleagues were the biggest productivity drain at 54%.

Trendy office styles tend to be another factor. Physical workspace issues rank second on the list of productivity drains. Nearly half of Canadians (49%) blame “noisy recreation areas within the space,” and a “distracting open-concept work environment” on lapses in daily productivity.

Unassigned workspaces appear to be the third biggest productivity challenge for Canadians. Unassigned workspaces are when an employee does not have a permanent desk or office. Almost half of all Canadians (43%) name this as a key complaint.

Of course, there are those time-wasting meetings. This dreaded meeting type rounded out Canadians’ top productivity blockers. Men and women had different viewpoints on this distraction. 38% of the men queried, in comparison to 45% of women found these meetings a major distraction in their day.

When asked to sum up the impact of daily productivity drains on their performance, 73% of Canadians estimated they could save up to two hours a day if they worked in an office that was designed to minimize distraction.

More than one-third (35%) reported they could boost productivity by two hours each day as a result of working in a productivity-enhancing office environment. Another 38% of those surveyed estimated they could get the usual seven hours of work completed in six. 39% of the younger adults surveyed under the age of 35 years, estimated they could potentially boost productivity by two hours a day.

This resulted in almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) said they would even accept a lower salary if it meant working in a “conveniently located beautiful work-space designed for productivity and employee satisfaction.”

This seems like a good time to ask this question. Would you be willing to sacrifice your pay for a conveniently located beautiful workspace designed for productivity?

According to Kane Willmott “Canadians overwhelmingly highlight design, physical environment productivity challenges like nomad seating arrangements, noise and distracting open concept design, ahead of other workload-related challenges, such as excessive email (17%) or unexpected extra work (19%).”

“We’re creatures of habit. We want to have a predictable work environment,” he said. “That being said, we don’t want to just sit at a desk for eight hours a day either. We need to create areas to rejuvenate.”

In Willmott’s opinion, Canadian employees are looking for an office that allows them to have their own space while still offering flexibility for changes of scenery throughout the day.

Below are two ways to improve productivity in the workplace:

Ownership of the space
“Productivity will improve if employees take ownership of their work and their workspace,” said Baba Vishwanath, Professor of Human Resources and Management at McMaster University.

Eliminate distraction
For many employers, changing a whole workspace can be hectic and expensive, but Willmott says, “There are still some easy ways to make a workplace more productive in the short term.”