Jobs. Emails, messages, meetings… at the office, employees are interrupted on average every two minutes.

In a professional world where emails, messages, and meetings punctuate each workday, it's becoming difficult to concentrate at the office, as interruptions are now omnipresent. According to a Microsoft report released Tuesday, an employee is interrupted every two minutes on average. This study is based on a global analysis of user data from Microsoft 365, a tool widely used by businesses.

First, the report highlights that the volume of emails received by an employee has reached alarming proportions. On average, employees receive 117 emails per day, most of which are read in less than 60 seconds. Worse still, mass emails, addressed to more than 20 recipients, increased by 7% last year, while more personal exchanges decreased by 5%.

But the causes of workplace interruptions aren't limited to emails. Messages sent via Microsoft Teams, its communications app, have also exploded. An employee receives an average of 153 per day, a 6% increase year-over-year, globally.

Not to mention meetings… These often take place during peak productivity periods. In fact, 50% of meetings are held between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., and then between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.—times when research shows employee focus is at its peak.

Another worrying finding in the report is the surge in work activity outside of working hours. The average employee sends or receives more than 50 messages after the end of their day. At 10 p.m., nearly a third of active workers (29%) even dive back into their inbox. This phenomenon clearly shows that many employees struggle to separate their personal and professional lives and that the "right to disconnect," although officially in effect, is far from being achieved.