Staff waste time texting, shopping and browsing

According to the latest research from independent job site CV-Library, one in four (23.4 per cent) UK professionals admit to spending up to 21 hours each month doing personal activities during worktime. That’s the equivalent of 2.8 full working days lost every month, or seven weeks each year.

The survey aimed to find out how much time employees spend procrastinating during the working day and the impact this has on UK businesses.

Interestingly, the study found that two-thirds (62 per cent) of workers believe employees have the right to procrastinate every now and then.

The top five activities when procrastinating at work include:

1 - Texting or using instant messaging – 42 per cent.

2 - Browsing social media – 25.2 per cent.

3 - Replying to personal emails – 23.1 per cent.

4 - Online shopping – 17.2 per cent

5 - Making phone calls to friendsorfamily–10.1percent.

“Smartphones, instant messaging and social media appear to be a problem for UK businesses, with

these distractions proving too hard to resist when they’re available at the click of a button,” says Lee Biggins, founder of CV-Library.

“What’s more, it’s alarming that this procrastination is costing employers almost three working days every month – and that’s simply per employee.

“Reduced productivity is never ideal for any business, so it’s important that the right steps are taken to tackle this problem before it worsens. Managers should consider discouraging phone use during worktimes, and insteadcreatingsettimessuchas breaks where employees can look at their phone and do personal errands.

“On top of this, staff should be kept engaged with regular catch-ups to find out if there’s a bigger problem that’s causing them to procrastinate.”

Biggins continues: “While we all get distracted from time to time, it’s worrying to learn that so many UK workers admit to procrastinating because they’re bored or unhappy at work.

“Employers should consider how they can increase employee engagement through training and presenting staff with new opportunities in the workplace.

“Giving workers new responsibilities every now and then can help to switch up their daily tasks so that they don’t become bored.”