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Reclaim the Hour and a Half You're Forfeiting to Distractions at Work (Infographic) A full 43 percent of employees are distracted for a sizeable chunk of the workday. Here's what's getting in the way of getting work done.

By Kate Taylor

entrepreneur daily

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Chatting with coworkers, checking Twitter, even thinking about your grocery list – there's a lot you can do while you're in the office that isn't work. While these distractions are a part of everyday life, they're seriously compromising your focus.

Almost half of employees are distracted more than 20 percent of the workday, according to a new study by Virgin Pulse, a subset of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. That means, if you're working eight hours, you're flushing more than 1-1/2 potentially productive hours down the drain every day.

Related: 9 Reasons to Quit Your Job As Soon As You Can

What's the source of these distractions? The top culprit is socializing with coworkers, a distraction 54 percent of employees surveyed said sidelined their work. Tech interruptions come in second place, with 45 percent of workers being distracted by emails and text messages.

Check out the infographic below to learn how to sharpen your focus and prevent distractions at work.

Click to Enlarge+
Reclaim the Hour and a Half You're Forfeiting to Distractions at Work (Infographic)

Related: 21 Ways to Achieve Wealth and Success

Kate Taylor

Reporter

Kate Taylor is a reporter at Business Insider. She was previously a reporter at Entrepreneur. Get in touch with tips and feedback on Twitter at @Kate_H_Taylor. 

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