DOHA: Social media sites are seen to be the main culprit for distraction at work place, says a poll conducted by the job site Bayt.com.
The poll has revealed that 59.3 percent of the respondents in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region consider that having their attention snatched away from work is a ‘big problem’, and 24.7 percent say social media is the main culprit. However, eight out of 10 respondents believe that they are efficient at their job, despite the distractions.
Data for the Bayt.com ‘Distractions at Work in the Mena’ poll was collected online from October 27 to November 20, 2013, with 6,704 respondents from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.
The survey also pointed out other activities that cause distraction at work place such as colleagues and the chance to socialise (18.3 percent); news websites (10.2 percent, with 31.2 percent stating that their efficiency at work is affected by news coming from neighbouring countries); work-related matters that are not linked to current tasks (10 percent); email (8 percent), instant messaging (4.3 percent), and YouTube (2.7 percent).
Meanwhile, a large 21.8 percent of respondents say that all of the above are equally as distracting.
A more professional work environment would help 30.2 percent of respondents to be less distracted, while 23.3 percent state that they would be more likely to concentrate more on work if they had a better work-life balance. A fifth (21.4 percent) would like more challenging work to keep them occupied.
More than a third (37.3 percent) take short breaks from work once a day; almost a quarter (22.4 percent) go twice a day, with 18.7 percent taking a break every 2-3 hours.
Tiredness does not seem to be a big issue for most employees, with seven out of 10 saying they rarely or never feel sleepy at work. On the other hand, news and events coming from neighbouring Mena countries seems to be a cause of anxiety to 12.7 percent of respondents, with 31.2 percent saying that their work productivity has been affected by “checking the news all day”.
Despite all of the distractions, 83.5 percent of respondents consider themselves to be efficient at work, and three quarters
(73.9 percent) working from a to-do list in the office. Almost half (45.2 percent) plan their tasks a week in advance, with four in 10 planning them every morning. More than eight in 10 polled professionals said that they have set long-term goals to guide them, which is a good practice.
“It is interesting that a fifth of respondents would like more challenging work to be less distracted, and that a further quarter claim that a better work-life balance would result in less distractions,” said Suhail Masri, Vice President of Sales, Bayt.com. “This points to fact that more can be done by employers around the Mena to make their employees more satisfied at work.”
The Peninsula
