Working from home is very much a thing of the present, and indeed future these days. After spending the best part of a year doing it, the flexibility of it is undoubtedly going to make it a mainstay.
The ease of getting out of bed and going to work, the stress-free nature of no commute. The ability to juggle childcare more efficiently, to save money on expensive lunches, and so much more, it’s improved our work-life balance significantly.
However, it hasn’t come without its pit-falls. And it’s fair to say we’ve all fallen victim to them too.
Yes, working from home certainly provides its distractions, but what are we all most likely to fall for?
Binge Watching Netflix
The television is always a distraction, working from home or not, and it’s certainly proving to be putting us off work when we should be typing away but instead we’re glued to Bridgerton or Stranger Things.
There have been a number of surveys produced globally around how much binge-watching TV is taking away from our work. One suggested that 57% of people working from home have binge-watched a show during work hours, while 46% have also said they have replaced commuting time with watching TV.
Online Gaming
Similarly, the distraction provided by online gaming has also proven to be popular during days working from home. Statista recently showed that 30% of people are distracted while playing video games, one of the leading distractions away from social media and it’s perhaps no surprise given the sheer volume of games available to play.
Console gaming has of course been a major player in that, whilst gambling across online platforms like Casino777 roulette have also contributed significantly. The growth of the latter industry has been huge over the last few years, with online bingo in particular welcoming a raft of new players during 2020 and 2021.
And one of the biggest distractions is the social element of them. With workers stuck at home on their laptops, the ability to talk to others in a more social, less work-related way, has proven popular, and is naturally backed up by the fact a third of us are gaming when we should be working.
Household Chores
It may only take a few minutes to put a wash on, but when you’re doing a few chores daily the amount of time spent doing them does mount up across a week. Household chores are among the biggest distractions when working from home, and you’ll even find dozens of articles online actively offering advice on how best to do it. Among the most common tasks being undertaken on the payroll include:
- Clothes Washing
- Ironing
- Vacuuming
- Cleaning
- DIY
- Shopping
Of course, it’s important to take breaks away from your screen while working from home, and undertaking these quick tasks can be a useful way to do it. But it appears many of us are also getting carried away. And while we may have a tidy living room, we may also have an empty spreadsheet.
Pets
How many Zoom calls have you been on where a colleague has showcased their dog to you? It happens so regularly and pets are proving to be one of the top distractions when at home, perhaps even more so than children.
It’s an interesting conundrum. While it’s only natural children will cause distraction when working from home, although often they may be at school or nursery, does a pet have the same value in the eyes of your boss?
Either way, a yapping dog or cat scratching at the office door is only going to hamper productivity.
