It is common for employees to become distracted. There are many forms of distraction at home and in the office. Social media and web surfing in general are two of the most common forms of distractions. But, if you work in an office with many people mulling around, that can be distracting as well. Hard workers can get distracted by their email account as they often want to keep it up to date every five minutes.
Offices vs. Working From Home
If you are trying to focus on getting work done, it is better to be isolated from any people, animals or other distractions. But, most offices are not designed for this. Working in an office makes it easier to get coaching from others, work on group projects or attend meetings. Working in isolation makes it easier to focus on getting work done. I personally work from home and I get a lot more work done than most others. This is true partly because I work with a sense of purpose, but also because I have developed patterns for efficiency over the years.
Managing Distractions
As a manager, it might be a good idea to restrict the use of the internet at work. If it were possible to cut people off the web, that would be one solution. Another solution is to tell them that they are forbidden from using the web for anything other than job assignments. It might be good to monitor people’s computers to see what sites they are visiting on the web as well. However, there is a unique twist you are not thinking of.
Lunch Breaks Decrease Distracted Working
Workers who work too long without taking proper breaks tend to become mentally agitated. Their circulation will be deficient if they don’t walk around much. They might also be hungry if they work too much without eating. But, their minds will experience what Buddhists call “Monkey Mind” after a while as well. Having a lunch break, having a change of scenery, or socializing can decrease distractions. But, having a lunch break is also a great opportunity to catch up on personal emails, Facebook, and other social media. If workers can get the internet out of their system during a generous lunch break, they might function a lot better throughout the day!
Summary
Personally, I would not allow a worker to surf the web during work time because they might get very distracted and the efficiency of their work could really suffer. However, reading an article during a break might make sense. It is more sensible to get your eyes off the computer screen and take a walk. We spend far too much time in front of computers and it is really bad for our eyes, neck, shoulders, and overall circulation!