Are digital(ˈdijitl) distractions(disˈtrakSHən) harming labour(lebər) productivity(prəˌdək-,ˌprädək-,ˌprōˌdəkˈtivətē)?

Are digital(ˈdijitl) distractions(disˈtrakSHən) harming labour(lebər) productivity(prəˌdək-,ˌprädək-,ˌprōˌdəkˈtivətē)?

The evidence(ˈevədəns) is mixed; it seems clear, however, that they are making us unhappier.

For many it is a reflex(ˈrēˌfleks) as unconscious(ˌənˈkänSHəs) as breathing(ˈbrēT͟HiNG). Hit a stumbling-block(ˈstəmbəl) during an important task (like, say, writing a column)? The hand reaches for the phone and opens the social network of choice. A blur(blər) of time passes, and half an hour or more of what ought(ôt) to have been productive effort is gone. A feeling of regret(riˈgret) is quickly displaced by the urge(ərj) to see what has happened on Twitter in the past 15 seconds. Some time after the deadline, the editor asks when exactly to expect the promised copy. Distraction is a constant these days; supplying it is the business model of some of the world’s most powerful firms(fərm). As economists(iˈkänəmist) search for explanations(ˌekspləˈnāSHən) for sagging(sag) productivity, some are asking whether the inability(ˌinəˈbilitē) to focus for longer than a minute is to blame(blām).

This column will resume(riˈzo͞om) after you have returned from checking your notifications(ˌnōtəfiˈkāSHən).

The technological(ˌteknəˈläjikəl) onslaught(ˈänˌslôt,ˈôn-) has been a long time building. Bosses no doubt(dout) found the knock(näk) of the telegraph(ˈteləˌgraf) boy or the clack(klak) of the ticker-tape(ˈtikər tāp) machine an abominable(əˈbäm(ə)nəbəl) interruption. Fixed-line desk phones were an intrusion(inˈtro͞oZHən) in their day, before the mobile phone brought work interruptions(ˌintəˈrəpSHən) into the home. But the web is different, with its unending news cycle(ˈsīkəl), social networks humming(həm) with constant conversation(ˌkänvərˈsāSHən), and news feeds algorithmically(ˈalgəˌriT͟Həm) structured to keep users scrolling(ˈskrōliNG) and sharing. The louder the din(din), the greater the distraction—and the harder to tune(t(y)o͞on) it out for fear(fi(ə)r) of missing important information.

Distractions clearly affect performance on the job. In a recent essay, Dan Nixon of the Bank of England pointed to a mass of compelling(kəmˈpeliNG) evidence(ˈevədəns) that they could also be eating into productivity growth. Depending on the study you pick, smartphone-users touch their device somewhere between twice a minute to once every seven minutes. Conducting tasks while receiving(riˈsēv) e-mails and phone calls reduces a worker’s IQ by about ten points relative(ˈrelətiv) to working in uninterrupted(ˌənˌintəˈrəptid) quiet(ˈkwīət). That is equivalent(iˈkwivələnt) to losing a night’s sleep, and twice as debilitating(diˈbiliˌtātiNG) as using marijuana(ˌmarəˈ(h)wänə). By one estimate, it takes nearly half an hour to recover focus fully for the task at hand after an interruption. What’s more, Mr Nixon notes, constant interruptions accustom(əˈkəstəm) workers to distraction, teaching them, in effect, to lose focus and seek diversions(diˈvərZHən,dī-
).

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https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21732141-evidence-mixed-it-seems-clear-however-they-are-making-us