Your working day should really only be three hours long… and here’s the proof why
A new survey by vouchercloud revealed that the average British office worker is only actually productive for under three hours every day
FORGET working nine to five, it turns out that we'd all be better off working nine to twelve.
That's not just based on the hopes and dreams of bored employees either - there's finally some evidence to back it all up.
A new revealed that the average British office worker is only actually productive for under three hours every day.
According to the study of 1,989 Brits, we only ever spend around two hours and 53 minutes of the working day actually working.
Employees were asked to honestly state how much time they spend being productive on a typical shift, with just one in five claiming they work flat-out all day.
But this only raises the question: what on Earth are the rest of us doing instead?
Well, the poll found that the average office is littered with distractions, which end up absorbing almost all of the time we spend at work.
Among the worst offenders are social media and news websites, responsible for gobbling up a combined hour and 49 minutes of every day.
The combined total of the ten most common distractions, plus the time we spend being productive, accounts for seven hours and 25 minutes.
And when you factor in a lunch break, that's the entire work day gone - with the vast majority wasted on unproductive distractions.
How the average Brit spends their working day
Being productive: 2 hours 53 minutes
Reading news websites: 1 hour 5 minutes
Checking social media: 44 minutes
Discussing out of work activities with colleagues: 40 minutes
Searching for new jobs: 26 minutes
Smoking breaks: 23 minutes
Calling partner/friends: 18 minutes
Making hot drinks: 17 minutes
Texting/messaging: 14 minutes
Eating snacks: 8 minutes
Making food: 7 minutes
Chris Johnson, from vouchercloud, said: "The modern workplace has an awful lot to distract us with, especially with our phones at our desks and tea to be drank.
"The times that we revealed in the survey, however, are still a surprise – perhaps we’re letting ourselves get distracted far too easily, with our productivity being dented as a result.
“Taking a break once in a while is by all means okay – in fact, many high profile business leaders recommend taking regular breaks in order to make you more productive.
"But, taking calls from your friend or partner and checking social media might be pushing your luck.”
Most Read in Fabulous
These findings were reached by asking respondents to choose their most frequent distractions, which narrowed down the list of the ten most common.
This allowed vouchercloud to account for almost the entire working day, when these distractions are added to the average time people spend being productive.
Previously, we revealed that one in three Brits eat the same lunch every day while they're at work.