It is estimated that American businesses lose around $650 billion a year through workplace distractions, according to Jonathan Spira, chief analyst of Manhattan consulting firm Basex, who authored a report called "The Cost of Not Paying Attention: How Interruptions Impact Knowledge Worker Productivity." Chuck Martin, president of NFI Research, a data analysis firm that tracks business, management, and informational technology trends, says work-related distractions like e-mail, company crises, and interruptions by co-workers are so common that 46% of business leaders arrive at work early in search of solitude. But their peace is often disrupted when their employees follow suit, seeking the boss's attention early in the morning or late in the day because there is less competition for it, says Martin, author of SMARTS: Are We Hardwired for Success? "What that does is it destroys work-life balance," Martin says. "They're basically extending the hours of the day."
Martin argues in his book that the key to improving an employee's focus and productivity is acknowledging his or her strengths and weaknesses according to a set of 12 cognitive functions, including time management, stress tolerance, planning/prioritization, and flexibility. Those skills are generally unchangeable in adulthood, Martin says, cautioning managers to exercise tolerance for behaviors that may seem unnatural to them.