All employers want their employees to be productive. Do you know what things affect your employees’ productivity at work and make them lose valuable time?

According to a survey commissioned by the electronics company Samsung, small businesses in the UK are losing five and a half hours a week per employee as a result of the numerous distractions and frustrations at work.

The top complaints of the 1,000 office workers surveyed surrounded IT issues, colleagues and workplace issues.

• Technology issues annoyed workers and resulted in just over two hours a week of lost time. This involves crashing computers, slow internet and no access to emails.
• Colleagues eating messily or noisily, moaning and interrupting while others are talking were noted as big frustrations for workers, leading to just under two hours a week being lost.
• General office issues, such as the room temperature, uncomfortable chairs or untidy workplaces, cause 1.5 hours a week to be lost.

The survey also revealed that these frustrations could make an employee want to leave.

• 30% of the people surveyed said they had left their job because they were annoyed by a colleague.
• 20% said they had quit because of the workplace itself.
• 10% said they had left because of the annoyances caused by technology.

I’m sure we all recognise at least some of these issues!