Our tolerance of noise differs from person to person and sensitivity can increase depending upon our mood, for example we may be less able to cope with loud noise when we are stressed. We are able to hear an incredibly broad range of sound. The human ears are incredibly sensitive in the audible frequency range (20Hz to 20kHz). The hours lost included not only interruptions and distractions but also the time associated with recovering from distraction and getting back on task. This study reported that the ongoing splintering and diverting of worker attention was responsible for the loss of up to 2.1 hours of worker productivity per day. So although the audibility of this knowledge transfer may be welcome to some, to others involved in focused work it will be more likely to be distracting.Īccording to a Basex study, office workers spend a quarter of their day consumed by interruptions and distractions – which wastes both time and money (Wallis, Steptoe, & Cole, 2006).
Research shows that focused work remains more than 50% of our daily work life.
But consider this – this process of knowledge sharing may be valuable, but ironically it could also be harmful. How many times per day do we overhear another conversation at work? Our ability to intercept a conversation and contribute enhances the productivity of teams by enabling results that would otherwise require formal process (research, meetings etc.). Knowledge that is openly discussed in these unplanned interactions moves in a diffusion-style transfer from those who have it to those who want it. Unplanned interactions amongst colleagues remain the ripe ground upon which teams can increasingly advance the company’s goals. Increasingly this is taking place via less formal interactions. Research shows that collaboration is the most viable way to harvest the knowledge resident in our best companies. Blair McKolskey examines ways to mitigate productivity-affecting disturbances.