Cyber Monday Sale! 50% Off All Access

Reclaim the Hour and a Half You're Forfeiting to Distractions at Work (Infographic) A full 43 percent of employees are distracted for a sizeable chunk of the workday. Here's what's getting in the way of getting work done.

By Kate Taylor

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Chatting with coworkers, checking Twitter, even thinking about your grocery list – there's a lot you can do while you're in the office that isn't work. While these distractions are a part of everyday life, they're seriously compromising your focus.

Almost half of employees are distracted more than 20 percent of the workday, according to a new study by Virgin Pulse, a subset of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. That means, if you're working eight hours, you're flushing more than 1-1/2 potentially productive hours down the drain every day.

Related: 9 Reasons to Quit Your Job As Soon As You Can

What's the source of these distractions? The top culprit is socializing with coworkers, a distraction 54 percent of employees surveyed said sidelined their work. Tech interruptions come in second place, with 45 percent of workers being distracted by emails and text messages.

Check out the infographic below to learn how to sharpen your focus and prevent distractions at work.

Click to Enlarge+
Reclaim the Hour and a Half You're Forfeiting to Distractions at Work (Infographic)

Related: 21 Ways to Achieve Wealth and Success

Kate Taylor

Reporter

Kate Taylor is a reporter at Business Insider. She was previously a reporter at Entrepreneur. Get in touch with tips and feedback on Twitter at @Kate_H_Taylor. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Business News

Elon Musk Still Isn't Getting His Historically High Pay as CEO of Tesla — Here's Why

A second shareholder vote wasn't enough to convince Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick.

Growing a Business

Her Restaurant Business Is Worth $100 Million — Here's Her Unconventional Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Pinky Cole, founder of Slutty Vegan, talks about going from TV producer to restaurant owner, leaning into failure and the value of good PR.

Leadership

Leadership vs. Management: How to Understand the Difference and 6 Ways to Bridge the Gap

Here are the key differences between leadership and management, highlighting their complementary roles and providing six strategies to develop managers into future leaders.

Legal

How Do You Stop Porch Pirates From Stealing Christmas? These Top Tips Will Help Secure Your Deliveries.

Over 100 million packages were stolen last year. Here are top tips to make sure your stuff doesn't get swiped.

Business News

'Something Previously Impossible': New AI Makes 3D Worlds Out of a Single Image

The new technology allows viewers to explore two-dimensional images in 3D.

Business News

'I Stand By My Decisions': A CEO Is Going Viral For Firing Almost All of the Company's Employees — Here's Why

The Musicians Club CEO Baldvin Oddsson fired 99 workers at once over Slack for missing a morning meeting. But there's a catch.