Workers Not Doing Work for 36 Minutes Each Work Day

The was a key finding of a survey by staffing service OfficeTeam of 559 U.S. adult office workers and 150 senior executives, according to an Office Team news release . The employees’ estimate of their own time was lower than that of their supervisors who suggested their staff members actually spend 43 minutes each work day on something other than work.

“There are only so many hours in the day to meet job requirements and personal obligations and employers are aware that not all of the work day is spent on business,” said Diane Domeyer, executive director of OfficeTeam, in the news release. “In fact, some businesses have responded by providing staff with on-site daycare or concierge-type services such as dry cleaning and personal shopping.”

The worker survey reflected gender and age differences, according to the announcement: Women said they take an average of 29 minutes daily to attend to personal tasks during office hours, while men admitted to spending 44 minutes each day on non-work related activities.

Younger employees also were more likely to do personal chores at work. Survey respondents between 18 and 34 estimated spending an average of 45 minutes each day on personal pursuits at work, compared to 32 minutes for those between 35 and 64, and 17 minutes for workers age 65 years or older.

Full results are here .