Log In
Just 6% of the UK’s office workers feel productive for the full working day, a new poll commissioned by alternative business lender Fleximize has found.
Profiling all job types from CEOs to juniors, the study found that one in five workers admitted to procrastinating for over two hours a day – and sometimes up to a shocking six hours.
An estimated 21.18 million people in the UK wake up and head off to their 9-to-5 job every weekday. With a whopping 84% of workers procrastinating for over 30 minutes a day, that means the UK is potentially losing out on a collective nine million work hours each day.
Social media was revealed as the number one reason most of us can’t concentrate in the office. Instant messaging app WhatsApp stole the limelight as the most distracting platform, with 72% of workers chatting with their friends at their desks when they should be working. It was closely followed by Facebook, which distracts 70% of workers, while Instagram (49%) Twitter (41%) and Snapchat (30%) were also named as common workplace distractions.
Of those who took part in the poll, 63% admitted to eating both lunch and breakfast at their desks at least twice a week – if not every day (20%) – and 65% said they do not usually leave the office at lunch at all. And with 71% of workers doing up to four hours of overtime per week, it appears many of us are working later to make up for lost hours during the day.
“It’s ironic that social media, which has become an essential tool for businesses, is at the same time proving the biggest drain on employee productivity,” said Peter Tuvey, founder and managing partner of Fleximize. “However, it can also be seen as an opportunity to harness the ‘always on’ mentality of millennials. For example, companies could encourage all staff to gear their social media habits towards business goals, whether that’s seeking out and sharing relevant news stories or keeping an eye on the activity of competitors.”
Peter continues: “It was a big eye-opener to see that 71% of UK workers are doing up to four hours of overtime each week. If these figures mean employers should start instating mandatory lunch hours and a “don’t take your work home with you” policy, it could be a big step forward for UK businesses in improving the work-life balance of their teams.”
Share this infographic on your site
If you would like to share this infographic on your website, please attribute Fleximize using our embed code:
About Fleximize
Fleximize is a UK-based direct funding company and web platform launched in January 2014. Our mission is to help small and medium-sized British businesses grow by providing them with flexible financing solutions tailored to their unique needs and preferences. We are striving to provide our clients with experience and service traditionally available only to larger corporates. Our dedicated relationship managers will guide and support clients from the moment they apply – no bouncing from person to person or waiting for hours on hold.
Fleximize also offers traditional fixed-term loans, which come with a range of flexible features including top-ups and repayment holidays.
These cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit.
If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.