Talkative workers the most distractive influence at work

By SMBWorld Asia Editors | Aug 18, 2010

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Talkative co-workers are the most common distraction for office workers, according to a global poll by recruitment specialists Robert Walters.

When asked their most time consuming distraction at work, almost half of those polled responded ‘talkative colleagues,’ one in three said personal email messages and Internet browsing, 8% claimed social networking sites, 6% smoking breaks and 5% personal
calls and/or text messages.

These global results were mirrored in Singapore, where 49% of professionals polled said talkative colleagues were the most time-consuming office distraction, 31% claimed personal email or Internet and 8% smoking breaks.

These trends were particularly marked in some countries – 70% of office workers in New Zealand, 67% in Hong Kong and 62% in Ireland said talkative colleagues were the most time consuming distraction at work. Professionals in South Africa had different concerns – 56% of respondents there claimed personal email and Internet usage was the biggest office distraction.

“Although personal use of Internet and email is widely perceived as the most common time waster at work, our survey shows this isn’t the case,” says Andrea Ross, Managing Director of Robert Walters Singapore. “Informal conversations can fuel productivity but a lot of the time professionals are engaging in conversations with colleagues out of politeness. With most offices now being open concept, other people’s conversations can be hard to avoid. Of course, the odd chat during the day can provide a welcome break and can spark new ideas but there is a balance that needs to be struck.”