Do teleworkers really work?

The pandemic democratized telecommuting on a global scale. Since then, many workers have embraced this form of work, which allows them to avoid long commutes and be able to get on with files and other activities in an environment in which they are comfortable. However, are employees still working during the hours they are at their home office?

An ExpressVPN study of 2,000 U.S. and U.K. employees shows that a significant portion of work hours during the week are not used to complete required tasks. In fact, 66% of those surveyed admitted to wasting some of their time on devices often provided by the company. On average, only 13 out of 40 hours would be spent on work activities, while the rest would be used for loitering on third-party websites. When no one is watching, it's easy to get distracted by the many applications available. Which ones are the most used? Here are a few:

• Personal messaging (66% of respondents)
• Other personal activities like reading news headlines (64%)
• Online shopping (59%)
• Reservations for restaurants, travel, etc. (57%)
• Social networks (54%)

Some even admitted to engaging in time-consuming activities such as streaming videos (44%) or playing video (42%) and money games (39%). Some admitted to viewing pornography during these times: 42% of American respondents answered that they did so! In total, this represents more than 1400 hours per year per employee lost for a company. According to the study, women spend more time on professional activities than men: 15 hours per week for women against 12 hours for men. The most easily distracted age group would be the 35 to 44 year olds, and executives would be more likely to loiter on various sites than others.

What can explain this lack of diligence on the part of workers? For one thing, the lack of oversight makes it easier to do this online loitering. In fact, many companies have since implemented tracking tools in devices they own to see what's really going on and block targeted websites. A portion of respondents have been caught red-handed by their employers for activities on the dark web, buying cryptocurrency or visiting pornographic sites, among others. The consequences have sometimes been termination (17%) but also verbal warnings (20%) and even training on the use of work devices (21%).

Another reason for such loitering lies in the expectations of companies that require extra work outside the set schedule. 78% of executives surveyed admitted to expecting such effort compared to only 11% not wanting that from employees. This lack of understanding of the boundary between personal and professional life can blur the relationship to work material and thus give employees an excuse to distract themselves online during scheduled hours. If the boundaries were put on the table, in black and white, both in usage and in respect for workers' personal time, these distractions could largely decrease.