Workplace interruptions occur every 2 minutes, a report estimates. Here’s what experts say

Karen MacMillan, assistant professor in organizational behaviour, offers tips on how to focus at work.

Technology is helping people get work done more efficiently, but having constant interruptions during the day can hurt productivity, say workplace experts.

“I think we just have to be very cognizant about using technology,” said Margaret Yap, associate professor at the department of human resources management and organizational behaviour at Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, in a Zoom interview with CTVNews.ca on Monday.

“We should use technology to our benefit to help us do our work and try to mitigate the negative consequences.”

Work interruptions can be frequent; a new Microsoft report found that employees are interrupted by a meeting, email or chat an average of 275 times once every two minutes during work hours each day. Interruptions also include smartphone app notifications, phone calls and in-person conversations.

Technology has been more beneficial for workers and companies than harmful, Yap said. At the same time, it’s important to respect people’s time and not expect “instant responses” unless it’s urgent, she added.

“I think we as humans, as workers and managers, we should know how to use (technology),” Yap said, noting that the interruptions can prevent people from doing work, affect the quality of work and create stress.

“Technology allows us to do a lot of things that we couldn’t have done before, but we still have to be the drivers to make sure that we are using technology to help us and not to hinder our productivity and creativity.”

Impact of interruptions

Constant interruptions can affect employees’ mental health, making them frustrated and anxious even outside of work, according to Karen MacMillan, assistant professor in organizational behaviour at the Ivey Business School at Western University in London, Ont.

In a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Monday, MacMillan says turning off technology for certain periods can help people not only focus but also come up with good ideas, such as when taking a walk.

She adds that managing your attention in a way that helps you perform tasks more effectively can provide a “better mental mindset” at work and at home.

MacMillan says while people may think they’re good at multitasking, it’s important to understand the types of interruptions that they can handle.

“If you ask people, ‘are you good at multitasking?’ They would say yes, but we’re actually not, especially when the different things we’re trying to do at the same time use the same parts of the brain,” she said.

Building boundaries to prevent too many interruptions and gain focus is important, MacMillan says.

“Our attention is one of the most important things we have, and all these interruptions are kind of scattering our attention,” she said.

“So we need to build walls. Maybe I have certain periods of the day where I turn off all notifications. Maybe I put my phone in another room. Maybe I don’t have my headphones on, so I can’t hear the pings, or I turn it off, so I can’t see them as I’m working.”

Another strategy MacMillan suggests is putting a timer on for, say, 25 minutes, when you can focus with no interruptions from email and messages. If you have a coworker who often interrupts you during work, you can schedule times to meet when you’re both free, she said.

“So now it’s structured time and I’m managing it rather than just letting the flood hit me,” MacMillan said.

It’s important for leaders to take action, as well.

“It would be wonderful if leaders took the lead in this and actually set up some norms for a group of employees around how they’re going to be more focused,” she said, adding the first step would be for a leader to talk to employees to see if they feel that they’re getting inundated with interruptions.

“If there are a significant number of people who are feeling this, then maybe the leader can set times when there are no meetings, when there are no interruptions, when doors can be shut, and people can be uninterrupted, but also open up times when there are interactions with employees, when it’s OK to have personal conversations and connect to each other.”

Even with the harmful effects of too many interruptions, Scott Schieman, professor of sociology at the University of Toronto, said the matter could be a “double-edged sword,” with sitting and focusing on work for too long having downsides for some people.

“One set of interruptions can be beneficial for some people, but also problematic,” he said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Monday. He said research showed people complained about missing the interactions with coworkers when they worked remotely and those back in the office complained about colleagues often chatting with them.