60% of Brits cannot get through the workday without checking on their phone

New research shows that 60% of Brits can’t work an entire day without checking their phone.

The majority of workers are unable to resist the urge to remain connected, whether it is for personal messages, alerts from social media or for work-related information.

Many people are constantly checking their phones. One third of the respondents admitted to checking their phone every time they receive a notification, and some even go further–17% confessed to doing it multiple times an hour. Brits may lose up to 94 working hours per year, or nearly four days of work, by being distracted by their phone during the day.

The constant connection has costs. Businesses could lose up to PS550 per employee annually if they frequently check their phones.

The pressure to stay connected is high

The primary reason for phone-checking in the workplace is not personal. More than 41 percent of employees said they felt pressured to remain connected via email, Slack or other work-related communications, driving a constant culture of connectivity. This expectation can cause stress by forcing employees to juggle tasks and distractions.

One in four Brits is distracted by social media at work

For 26 percent of employees, social media use affects their productivity. More than half of workers (51%) do not believe that their social media use affects their work. This illustrates the varying opinions about the impact digital distractions have on the workplace.

Find Focus Among Distractions

Distractions are an important issue but not all workers can do anything about them. Nearly 40% of employees claim to manage their focus by balancing periods of uninterrupted work with regular breaks. Only 13 percent of employees reported using apps or other tools to stay focused. Others rely on simple strategies like music or noise cancelling headphones to drown out distracting sounds.

The survey also revealed that 43 percent of employees feel most productive early in the morning, while only 14 % reach their peak productivity in the afternoon. The remote work also plays a part in maintaining focus. 38 percent of workers feel more productive when working from home, but a quarter are more distracted.

In an era dominated by notifications, these findings illustrate just how much smartphones and connectivity are shaping–and in some cases hindering–productivity in the modern workplace.