Communications and Technology Industry Research

Distractions in the workplace have increased drastically since the introduction of social media. Employees continue to search for as many ways as possible not to work while actually at work. In a recent study by Qumu, 64 percent of Americans are now using the workplace to watch online video.

Categories of these online videos range from news clips, viral videos on YouTube (News - Alert), social media videos, television shows, feature-length films and pornography.

The most common way of hiding watching online video from an employer is hiding a mobile device under a table or desk. With smartphone technology today, mobile devices can double as a computer with online video features available immediately.

According to the study, forty-two percent of workers take bathroom breaks to watch videos and thirty-five percent attempt to hide a smartphone or tablet in folders.

Other unique responses to the survey include pretending to tie shoes in order to continue watching a video and attempting to cause a distraction to continue watching a video.

Over half of the men surveyed and about one in three women admitted to constantly watching online video watch during work hours.

The largest type of online videos watched is news clips, with 25 percent of workers watching. Workplace videos are the second largest with 17 percent.

The study surveyed over 2,500 people. Qumu is the leading business video platform provider.

The largest Fortune 500 companies depend on Qumu’s video platform to capture, manage, and distribute live and on-demand content with total reliability and security.

Some employees have enough time at work to kill that four percent of workers watch feature-length films in the office. Slightly above films were sports videos at 11 percent and television shows at 9 percent.

While 90 seconds of online video is approximately 700 times larger than a typical email, only nine percent of employees understand that online video is taxing on the speed and bandwidth of a wireless network.

Besides watching video, distractions at the workplace are high with nearly 75 percent using smartphones for tasks unrelated to work. The most common? Searching for a more attractive job.

Other tasks include online dating websites, seeking part time work, researching a medical problem, shopping for private items like lingerie or underwear and looking into popular plastic surgery options.

These tasks are completed by 63 percent of Americans during work-related meetings.

In recent news, Qumu celebrated System Administrator Appreciation Day to thank System Administrators and other IT workers. Qumu commissioned "Gears of War" video art director and filmmaker Jerry O'Flaherty to create an exciting science-fiction short film placing the SysAdmin as the hero.

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