A study has shown that hybrid workers face more distractions in the office.
The survey, by Codex, found that 67% of workers were most distracted in an office environment, with phone calls, emails and background noise listed as the main factors in distraction.
In home office environments, household chores were found to me the biggest disrupter, followed by child and pet care and food preparation.
Over half of workers admit to spending more than 15 minutes every day on non-work-related activities during office hours. Nearly half of respondents report that workplace distractions at least slightly affect their productivity, while a third say they moderately or significantly impact their workflow.
Personal technology such as smartphones can also be problematic for workers’ productivity, with three quarters admitting to being distracted by devices at least once in the working day: 1 in 5 lose focus at least once every hour while 1 in 10 admit to being distracted by personal technology multiple times an hour.
To combat distractions, Irish workers are turning to various strategies, including taking regular breaks and changing work environments. Noise-cancelling headphones and time management apps are popular anti-disruption tools. Setting boundaries with colleagues and using ‘Do not disturb’ settings on personal technology are also effective measures.
