British employees are quietly boosting their annual leave allowance, with everyday distractions adding up to the equivalent of more than three weeks off work each year, a new study reveals.
From scrolling social media to cooking dinner during working hours, the unofficial breaks are turning into a sizeable chunk of time away from the job, it suggests.
The findings come from research by online retailer Haypp, which set out to examine the most common ways staff are “time-wasting” at work. It looked at both office and remote employees, calculating how much time regular habits such as social media use, phone calls and tea breaks add up to over the course of a year.
And with many staff working more flexibly over the summer, and August often bringing a lull in activity for some sectors, these unofficial breaks may be more frequent than usual. Whether it’s slipping out for an iced coffee, tackling overdue house chores or just zoning out on Instagram, it’s shaping up to be a quiet “season” of skiving.
What counts as skiving?
Social media was the top distraction, with 30 percent of employees admitting to scrolling on the job. While a few minutes here and there may not seem like much, the average adds up to 33 minutes a day. That’s the equivalent of 19 working days a year spent on socials alone.
But social media isn’t the only way staff are stealing back time. The research identified a host of other everyday interruptions that regularly pull employees away from their tasks, both at home and in the office:
- Texting (28%)
- Making dinner (26%)
- Cleaning the house (23%)
- Life admin (23%)
- Personal phone calls (21%)
- Traffic delays (18%)
- Smoke or vape breaks (18%)
- Tea rounds (17%)
- Online shopping (17%)
- Brew breaks and cigarette stops
The great British tea round remains a workplace ritual. But for those who regularly volunteer for kettle duty, the time spent adds up to eight days a year away from the desk.
Smokers and vapers also gained extra “time off”, with an average of 39 hours a year devoted to stepping outside, amounting to roughly another week’s worth of absence.
The hybrid housework effect
Remote and hybrid working has opened up fresh opportunities for distraction. More than one in four respondents said they cooked meals during work hours, while nearly a quarter admitted to tidying up the house when they should have been working.
Other studies suggest British employees lose as much as two hours a day on non-work tasks, representing an annual productivity loss of around £8,800 per worker. For employers, the figures show the importance of finding a balance between flexibility and focus.
What HR can do
Distractions are inevitable, but experts say HR can limit the impact through practical measures:
Set clear boundaries for flexible work. Define objectives around outcomes rather than hours to prevent housework creeping in.
Review social media policies. Allow reasonable short breaks but prevent excess through clear guidelines.
Streamline meetings and emails. Encourage shorter, sharper communication to free up time for core tasks.
Promote effective time management. Training in focus techniques such as time-blocking helps employees protect their best working hours.
Encourage wellbeing breaks. Legitimate pauses for stretching, hydration or fresh air can replace less constructive distractions.
Support disconnection. Reinforce the right to switch off to reduce presenteeism and boost productivity.
“We conducted this research to find out who the biggest time wasters were in the workplace, and it’s been shocking to see how much additional time-off some people get from time-wasting habits that add up over the year,” said Markus Lindblad of Haypp.
“It’s also been interesting to see that a large proportion of UK smokers are still leaving work to smoke, despite the fact that they’re on the clock,” he said.
William Furney is a Managing Editor at Black and White Trading Ltd based in Kingston upon Hull, UK. He is a prolific author and contributor at Workplace Wellbeing Professional, with over 127 published posts covering HR, employee engagement, and workplace wellbeing topics. His writing focuses on contemporary employment issues including pension schemes, employee health, financial struggles affecting workers, and broader workplace trends.
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
