Remote workers' nonwork habits aren't that different from those in the office

Managers are skeptical of workers' habits when they don't have the oversight of an office. A recent survey has quantified just how much workers engage in nonwork activities both in and out of the workplace. 

The report comes from WFH Research, a project out of Stanford (Calif.) University, the University of Chicago, Cambridge-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México in Mexico City. Researchers analyze data from the Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, a monthly survey of 2,500 to 10,000 U.S. residents between ages 20 and 64 who earned more than $10,000 the year prior. 

In many cases, what workers do with their free time on work-from-home days does not drastically differ from in-office habits; for example, more workers report playing computer or phone games from the office than at home. 

This table breaks down what workers do during the workday — often on mandated meal breaks — when on-premises and remotely. 

 

In-office

Remote

% of workers who report exercising during the workday

30.8

42.3

% who run personal errands (including medical appointments)

37.6

34.9

% who do chores other than childcare

24.2

45.8

% who care for children

13.3

18.9

% who play a phone or computer game

45.7

43.4

% who read for leisure

28

27

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