While many studies are showing that those working from home are more productive than when they work on-site, there are still instances when many distractions ask for the attention of remote workers in their homes.
For example, research of those working from home is showing how technology can become a distraction from work in people’s homes. With the world still cautious about spreading the virus and keeping the global pandemic under control, many workers have been adapting to work from home for a couple of years now.
While technology is the sole initiator of remote work and the reason why it is possible to telecommunicate, remote workers have also found other ways to use it during work that is not related to their work responsibilities.
Mobile Phones – The Biggest Distraction Of All When Working From Home
When working from home, workers say that mobile phones distract them the most. That is according to 56% of 670 survey participants. And mobile phones are an open gate into many available distractions, such as social media, video games, and more.
And social media is another big distraction, according to 44% of those who participated in the survey. Also, around 14% say that incoming calls distract them a lot while working from home.
How They Use Social Media When Working From Home
Out of all the social media platforms, 66% said they scroll through Facebook the most when working from home. Another Meta company, Instagram, is also very popular (52% report they use it when working from home). Both of these remote workers claim to be used for things that are not work-related.
From other internet platforms, the video service YouTube is very popular. Namely, 48% of those working from home are saying that they use YouTube during working hours for things that are not work-related. Also, Twitter (24%), TikTok (14%), and Snapchat (12%) are popular social media platforms for remote workers.
Technology also offers many other distractions from work for those who are telecommuting from their homes. For example, one in two reported that they use instant messaging apps for non-work-related things during office hours. Moreover, 41% say they use shopping apps, while just over one in three (35%) also use gaming apps during work when they are not supposed to.
Under half of the remote workers say they do not use their phone for calls that are not related to their work tasks, while 12% of them spend between half an hour and a full hour of their working day doing so.
Video games are a perfect distraction from work tasks, and 36% of those working from home admit they play video games during business hours. Out of that 36%, 15% reported they spend over an hour playing video games.
Netflix From Home Or Working From Home?
Finally, there is another dimension to technology being a distraction for workers who are telecommuting from their homes. During working hours, more than one in two (55%) remote workers find time to watch Netflix, when they should be working instead.
Also, one in three (34%) spend over an hour watching Netflix during the working hours. Moreover, one in 10 admit they watch Netflix for under half an hour during working hours from home.
Conclusion
While technology allows remote work to happen and for businesses to carry on even during lockdowns and a global pandemic, it is also a way out of a mundane day at work for many workers, as well as a distraction from work. From using their phones as a distraction, as well as social media, and video games, they have developed many ways in which technology can distract them from working from home. In conclusion, it almost seems like this is a norm – intertwining of work tasks and technology use for distractions when working from home.
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