Study: U.S. workers are highly motivated—yet fully disengaged at times

U.S. workers tend to be driven, dogged and motivated on the job—except when they’re not.

That’s the confused conclusion of a survey commissioned by RingCentral Glip, which asked 1,000 U.S. employees about their workplace habits, attitudes and productivity.

First, the good news. Ninety-three percent of respondents say they “feel driven and motivated at work,” and 88 percent report being “committed to doing their best.”

However, almost all the workers surveyed admit to mentally “checking out” for at least an hour every workday. (In addition to lunch and other breaks.) All that mindless midday scrolling, video viewing, social media snapping and fantasy football tinkering add up.

Spacing out for 60 minutes a day translates to about six weeks’ worth of lost productivity per year. (The popular Pomodoro technique, which suggests resting the brain about 10 minutes per hour to recharge it, works out to about the same amount of downtime.)