Research by Office Angels found 'desk-tractions’ are causing UK office workers to lose 16.5 million hours every day – the equivalent of £193 million wasted each year. 

A desk-traction is any office distraction that causes workers to lose their train of thought or to stop what they are doing. It has been found they cause a third (33%) of employees to waste over an hour every day.

The top 10 office desk-tractions are:

• Loud and very chatty colleagues (71%)

• Mobile phones left unattended (61%)

• Pointless meetings or questions (58%)

• Colleagues’ coughing and spluttering when they’re ill (44%)

• Arrival of new email (34%)

• Smell of people eating at their desk (30%)

• Instant Messenger (15%)

• Social networking sites (12%)

• Offers of a cup of tea (11%)

• An office crush (10%)