Aussie time-wasting at work costs $87b

Australians are more productive in the workplace than what they were a year ago but time-wasting still costs organisations $87 billion a year, a new report claims.

The average amount of time wasted in the workplace has fallen by four per cent since October 2011, the Ernst & Young Australian Productivity Pulse report found.

That may not sound like much, but it's not a bad boost considering Australian workplaces have been operating in a declining productivity environment for about 10 years, Ernst & Young managing partner Neil Plumridge says.

"We're producing more from the same amount of hours worked than 12 months ago," Mr Plumridge said.

"An extra 15 minutes of productive time every day at work can mean a great deal for individuals as well as the organisations they work for."

Four out of five Australian workers surveyed took productivity very seriously and were making a real effort to work "smarter" to get more out of the day.

But bludgers, who make up just five per cent of the workforce, account for more than 20 per cent of time wasted across the day, the report found.

Unnecessary meetings, unimportant emails and the use of social media at work were the biggest time-killers, costing businesses big dollars in lost wages.

Tasmania was ranked the most productive state, and healthcare and social workers the most gung-ho employees.

NSW was the least productive state, with finance and insurance workers the least time-efficient.

West Australians, motivated by job security, clocked the longest hours, while their South Australian counterparts clocked the least.

The findings were based on a survey of more than 2100 employees across seven industries in both the public and private sectors.