How to beat digital distraction

An expectation of constant availability across a complex web of communication platforms and channels is now embedded in many corporate workplaces. While there are certainly benefits to faster communication, unchecked digital distraction can exhaust workers and hamper productivity.

Pressure to respond

Asia frequently ranks highest for smartphone addiction globally; a 2022 meta analysis of 81 studies found that China and Malaysia, along with Saudi Arabia, have the world’s highest levels of problematic smartphone use.

‘People seem to spend more time on digital devices, especially smartphones, because they are highly accessible,’ says Yuan Wei Yao, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at The University of Hong Kong. ‘In the Chinese mainland, for example, people use WeChat for life and work, which can lead to expectations that work messages be answered quickly.’

Yao notes that instant messaging services can heighten pressure to respond quickly. ‘We see immediately that the message has been read, and we expect others to respond immediately as well,’ he says. ‘With email, you cannot really check whether others have seen your messages, and we do not expect people to respond in one minute.’

The nature of instant messaging can also make it difficult to distinguish urgent requests from those that can wait. Dr Anthony Wong, a corporate trainer and management consultant based in Hong Kong SAR of China, believes responsiveness can be confused with professionalism.

‘No matter what you’re doing, you just feel professional if you respond rapidly without thinking whether that message is urgent or not,’ he says. ‘We are now coded in a way that whenever we see a new message, we have the urge to get back so as to maintain a high level of professionalism.’

Workers aren’t just interrupted by notifications – they also interrupt themselves, ‘proactively’, checking smartphones and messaging services even without prompts. A whopping 89% of smartphone interactions are initiated by the user, according to research by The London School of Economics and Political Science.

‘Instant messages are small but immediate rewards; work, on the other hand, is a large but delayed reward,’ Yao explains. ‘If we can get immediate rewards by simply checking our phones, such behaviours will be easily reinforced. It becomes a vicious circle.’

Rise of task switching

Being interrupted, especially during periods of focused work, can often mean less work gets done overall. This is because we aren’t actually multitasking; we’re ‘task switching’, or constantly alternating our attention between the content of a Teams message and writing a complex report.

See Ann Soo, head psychologist at clinical neuroscience specialist Neurowyzr in Singapore, says it’s possible to do two low-intensity tasks at the same time, like talking on the phone while cooking or watching TV and scrolling through Instagram. But when it comes to more complex work tasks, she says, ‘Your brain can only hold so much information.’ When it’s full, the brain runs out of bandwidth to focus clearly. ‘For work where you need to have full focus and a lot of your thinking ability, you definitely won’t be able to multitask,’ Soo says.

Research shows that such task-switching behaviour can cost as much as 40% of productive time, as well as increase stress and lead to feelings of being mentally drained. A 2025 review by researchers at Hansei University and Eulji University in South Korea identified digital overload and ‘technostressors’ like work interruptions as key factors threatening employee wellbeing.

Reduce interruptions

Yao says that because humans are highly sensitive to changes in their environment, it’s often hard to pay attention to one task for a long time. ‘If notifications from outside appear, our attention can be easily interrupted,’ he explains. ‘Self-control is cognitively costly, and we may quickly feel tired if we keep self-control to a high level for a long time.’

According to Dr Wong, our ‘maximum attention span’ for ‘effective deep work’ is around 45 minutes. He suggests scheduling tasks in 45-minute increments and turning off all notifications except for those that are essential. ‘Maybe turn on one or two notifications and for most of the 45 minutes you should not be distracted,’ he says.

Soo adds that reducing smartphone notifications to email and one instant messaging service like WhatsApp can reduce unnecessary interruptions – and the temptation to check for messages.

At an organisational level, Dr Wong suggests establishing a ‘protocol’ for communication. ‘For instance, if a message is not urgent, you do it by email. If you need to scroll, it should be sent by email or maybe a Teams message. If it’s urgent, use WhatsApp,’ he says. ‘This means everyone understands that if they receive a message through WhatsApp, they have to pay attention to it now. If they receive an email, it can wait until the next work day.’

Yao emphasises that supportive workplace cultures help to manage digital distractions, and by extension improve productivity and wellbeing. ‘If the workplace demands that people reply quickly or even immediately, then it’s really hard to get rid of the digital distraction,’ he says.

‘But if the company allows some time and explicitly defines which communication tools should be used for work and how fast employees are expected to reply, then there might be some space for employees to choose how they respond.’