Deep Work Is Rare

Open office plans, which prioritize constant communication and collaboration, have become the norm. While these spaces are intended to promote teamwork and creativity, they create distractions that make deep, focused work difficult. Employees are frequently interrupted, and as a result, they spend more time on shallow tasks rather than engaging in cognitively demanding work.

The increasing reliance on social media and other digital tools encourages a culture of constant connectivity. Professionals are often drawn into cycles of frequent email checking, responding to messages, and engaging on platforms that favor shallow, immediate responses rather than sustained, focused thinking.