(Toledo News Now) - Billions of dollars are lost by American corporations, due to employees surfing the web and connecting via social media while on the clock. Office distractions are becoming a real concern, but which distractions are the worst?
If you work in an office, you're probably used to being interrupted while you're in the middle of a project. But you may not know which interruptions are the worst, and when they're most likely to disturb what you're doing.
The workplace has changed since the buttoned-up days of Don Draper and "Mad Men," when office workers wore suits, had no social media, and the only distractions were...well, we'll skip that. Today's open workspaces - first mocked in the movie "Office Space" - mean a lot of distractions.
Yahoo News says from web surfing to Twitter, our jobs are loaded with interruptions these days.
Among the worst:
-Personal e-mails, which 80 percent of us respond to while at work.
-Facebook, which 60 percent of us check at work.
-March Madness and fantasy football, which distracts 80 percent of office workers.
-Unexpected cubicle visits from fellow co-workers, which almost 100 percent of us encounter.
From the doesn't that stink file comes when those interruptions become a problem. Yahoo News says the worst time for lost productivity is after 3 p.m. when office chat, social media, and other distractions take over. If you need to focus, workplace experts say the best time for productivity is between 10 a.m. and noon.
The bottom line is if you don't want to be disturbed, let others know. Close a door - if you have one -put up a sign, or put on headphones. Co-workers will take a hint.
Stay focused so you don't waste your money.
