Productivity and distraction in the workplace

Listen 00:48:44

Guests: Nancy Rothbard, Gloria Mark, Dan Markovitz

Do you ever finish a long day at work and wonder what you actually accomplished? Emails, chatty colleagues, and meetings can eat away at our time. And there are other distractions – twitter, texts, YouTube videos, and personal phone calls. Studies show that the average office worker actually wastes almost a third of their day. This hour, we’ll explore productivity and distraction in the workplace. We’ll learn how to be more productive, resist interruptions and stay on task. And we’ll find out why coffee breaks and Facebook at work can actually increase our efficiency. Marty talks with NANCY ROTHBARD, professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, GLORIA MARK, professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, and DAN MARKOVITZ, author of “Building the Fit Organization.”

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal