Have you ever sat down to focus on a task, only to get interrupted by a chat notification or a coworker hovering in your doorway to ask a question? Before you know it, you’ve lost track of what you were doing in the first place.
You’re not alone. Distractions are everywhere, especially if you work in an open workspace. The problem isn’t that employees aren’t working hard, it’s that their attention is constantly being pulled in different directions. And when people can’t focus, they feel stressed and overwhelmed.
Fortunately, attention isn’t just something we have or don’t have. It’s something we can protect and improve—with the right strategies.
The Illusion of Multitasking
Back in 1998, former Apple and Microsoft executive Linda Stone came up with a phrase that perfectly captures our tech-fueled obsession with constant information. She called it continuous partial attention, which is just a fancy term for what happens when we’re always half-paying attention to a million things at once. It’s different from multitasking because we’re not really getting more done, we’re just staying on high alert scanning for the next thing that needs our attention. And it’s exhausting.
Deep Work (and Why Your Brain Needs It)
A great way for employees to fight this is by encouraging deep work sessions—times when they can focus on one task without interruptions. Research shows that working in 52-minute focus blocks, followed by 17-minute breaks, helps people stay sharp. It’s like giving the brain a workout but allowing it to rest between sets. Employers can make this easier by supporting quiet work times which isn’t always a realistic option, depending on the work environment. One thing that’s easy for any employer to do is to set the expectation that employees don’t need to be glued to their inboxes 24/7.
Interruption Science: Yes, It’s a Real Thing
Another big challenge? The work environment itself. Ever heard of interruption science? Researchers have found that even small distractions, like a conversation happening nearby, can throw off our concentration. The fix? Offices that give employees spaces for quiet work and companies that reduce the number of check-ins and meetings to allow for more time for focused work.
Digital Overload: Taming the Ping-Pong Effect
And then there’s our old friend, digital overload. With endless emails, chat apps, and alerts, it’s easy to feel like you need to respond to everything right now. But that’s a one-way ticket to burnout. Instead, encourage employees to batch their emails and check them at set times instead of reacting to every ping. Turning off non-essential notifications also helps create mental breathing room.
How Commonwealth Payroll & HR Can Help
At Commonwealth Payroll & HR, we know that focus isn’t just a personal challenge, it’s a workplace issue. When businesses take simple steps to reduce distractions, employees feel less stressed, get more done, and actually enjoy their work more. Whether it’s helping you create and document HR policies that support focused work or just giving you the tools to take some of the daily chaos off your plate, we’re confident we can help make your work environment better. Reach out to us and let’s make things a little easier for everyone.
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