UK workers spend just 39% of their day focusing on their core job, according to a new study by Workfront.
Wasteful emails and pointless meetings top the list of things stopping people from getting their jobs done, with unexpected phone calls cited as the third biggest distraction.
Alarmingly, a quarter of respondents also identified lack of collaboration within their teams as an obstacle to productivity.
Over 2,000 enterprise workers were surveyed for Workfront’s annual State of Work Report, which aims to understand and help employers navigate the modern workforce.
Communication and conflict
Other key findings include the shocking finding that 62% of women in the workplace say lack of communication is a source of conflict. Workers are dubious of their colleagues’ work too, on average rating their contemporaries just 3.65 out of 5.
The report also identifies what seems to be a generational shift in attitudes towards work. While 59% of baby boomers say work matters to them personally, just 51% of millennials agree.
Yet the younger generation is twice as likely to admit to being anxious that they’ll lose their jobs, fearing robots, machines and AI will take their place.
Staff are swamped
Worryingly, the study also highlights a stark disparity between employer demands and what workers realistically have time to achieve.
While the majority of employees want to innovate and say their success is partly measure by their ability to do this, 65% admit to being so swamped, they don’t have time to think beyond their daily to do list.
As well as enlightening context, the report also gives practical recommendations, to help leaders increase productivity. These include carving out time for innovation, finding ways to automate menial tasks so time can be freed up for more strategic work and embracing tech solutions.
To learn more about the 2018-2019 State of Work Report, visit workfront.com/stateofwork
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Workfront is the first modern work management application that connects enterprise work, collaboration and digital content into an Operational System of Record. Workfront has helped thousands of companies successfully transform their businesses into more modern enterprises that increase revenue, improve customer experience and eliminate cost.
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Work in Mind is a content platform designed to give a voice to thinkers, businesses, journalists and regulatory bodies in the field of healthy buildings.
