Businesses with over 100 staff could be losing over 16 hours each day as employees get distracted by social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Research from Bibby Consulting & Support revealed that if every member of the team checked text messages or updated their status for just ten minutes each day, then the time lost could soon add up.
Businesses who are worried about the amount of time some staff spend on social media portals should implement a social media and IT policy, which could also tie in with rules on bring your own device.
Michael Slade, managing director of Bibby, said: "There is a serious problem here. These aren’t just marketing statistics used by software companies to help sell their content filtering products, these are very real issues for businesses who are fed up with employees downing tools and simply messing around on the web."
He added that organisations need to "get tough" and implement a strict policy, as having a rigid set of rules will help drive productivity.