Those of you who work from home may get stick from your office-based friends about how you spend all day in your pyjamas, drinking tea and watching Jeremy Kyle. However, according to a new study, people who work from the comfort of their own homes are actually more productive than people in offices…
Despite the stereotype that home-based workers get an easier ride than people in an office, researchers found they are actually less likely to spend their day surfing the internet (Facebook and Internet shopping, anyone?) and making personal phone calls. On top of that, people who work from home are also more likely to work evening and weekends and take fewer lunch breaks.
The study of 3,000 people was carried out by labelling solutions provider DYMO who found that more than half of office based-workers said they often send personal emails when they should be working, with another 42% making personal phone calls. What’s more, 55% browse the net while more than a third will make sure their Internet banking is all up-to-date.
But people working from home are stricter with themselves with just 39% sending emails to friends and less than a third making personal phone calls. Just 35% surf the internet to kill some time and only 26% do their shopping or banking online during work hours.
Those working from home also think they work harder with a quarter saying they are fully concentrating on their work the entire time, along with 26% self-employed and entrepreneurs. In comparison, 20% of office-based workers said the same, with six out of ten admitting they sometimes have moments where the job isn’t getting their full attention.
The study also revealed that almost a quarter of people working from an office refuse to start work a minute earlier than 9am, but just 16 per cent of office-based workers said the same. And a staggering 30% of Brits who work in an office said they switch off as soon as the clock hits 5pm but just 10%of home workers agree.
A spokesperson for DYMO said ”Whenever anyone says they work from home, it’s easy to picture them still in their pyjamas at lunchtime watching daytime television. But it seems that they are actually working harder than their office-based counterparts. While it might seem like it’s easier to shy away from work when you aren’t in the office, it can actually mean that many are working harder to prove themselves to their boss. Working from home can also mean you actually get more work down as it’s much quieter than a busy office.”
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Picture kindly from here
