A new survey from Solitaired.com reveals work interruptions are the culprit distracting the largest proportion of survey respondents from work. No wonder work from home is in high demand with another study showing 2 in 3 workers declare they are more productive when working from home.

The 2nd largest proportion of survey respondents marked games as a major source of distraction from work. Considering the new interest in games as a medium for social connection and how games have even become a source of income (paid in cryptocurrency) for those left jobless, it may come as no surprise. We can’t forget to mention the Wordle craze either.

Regardless of your work protocols, we are overloaded with notifications, updates, and disturbances of every kind throughout the day — both in the office and out. Read on to find which things are the most problematic for those who are trying to get to work according to this 2022 Workplace Distractions Survey.

Work or Play?

The survey from Solitaired.com is distinct in that one of the options respondents could select as a form of distraction was “Games.” Solitaired.com is a site for playing games, so they wanted to see how big of a role games play as a distraction from work and predefined 6 categories plus included a write-in option.

The question they asked survey respondents was: What distracts you the most from work — when you should be working?

Respondents were able to select multiple options, so we can see that of the 1500 surveyed that there were 4 big problem areas:

1. Work Interruptions (25%)
   
2. Games (23%)
   
3. Phones (21%)
   
4. Disorganization (20%)
   

The survey also looks at the responses by gender and age:

Men are more distracted by games, their phones, and work interruptions. While women indicated that their charges (kids or pets), general disorder, and their to-do lists are what’s primarily interrupting their workflow.

When we break it down by age group, the most distractible workers overall were those over 65 years old.

Younger generations are more likely to get distracted by games. Games were the biggest work escape for 25-34 year-olds and 18-24. While kids and pets are the more of an issue for those aged 25-44.

Conclusion

This survey confirms that workday gaming is becoming an increasing problem for workers today.

Although, games may actually provide a more regenerative form of distraction than, say, work interruptions. For instance, one study reports that 75% of gamers play to maintain mental health and another suggests that gaming with coworkers could enhance productivity.

Swearing off distractions isn’t really realistic. Instead, be prepared to face them and understand how they will impact you throughout your day. Setting aside specific moments to spend on the fun distractions and arming yourself with sound-blocking headphones for others may be a better bet.

The full report is available at: https://solitaired.com/workplace-distractions