Remote workers found to waste less company time than in-office workers
LONDON, ENGLAND — Countless studies have already proven that most people get more work done when working remotely or from home than when in office, but new research has shed some light on exactly how much more so.
A study undertaken by digital PR agency Reboot looked at what non-work-related activities some 6,000 employees across the UK spend most of their time on while on the company clock.
Reboot found that the biggest “time-wasting” activities of UK workers are browsing social media, browsing the internet and socialising.
Socialising was one of the biggest time-wasters for in-office workers.
But, in what some remote work naysayers may find surprising, the employees who wasted the most company time in these activities were by far those who work in-person.
Social media was the biggest time-waster for 35.27 per cent of UK employees. But of that number, over 23 per cent were in-office workers.
In contrast, just over 12 per cent of remote workers spent paid time browsing social media instead of working.
When it came to internet browsing and socialising, the difference between remote workers versus in-person workers was again in stark contrast.
According to the study, nearly 20 per cent of UK employees working in physical offices spent company time browsing the internet; while just over 11 per cent of remote workers did.
Additionally, another roughly 20 per cent of in-office workers spent their time socialising while on the company’s clock; whereas under six per cent of remote workers did.
Flexibility and productivity are the perfect pair
Employees are most productive when they have flexibility.
The findings of this study only serve to underscore the productivity positives employers can benefit from by shifting to remote working models.
As the COVID-19 pandemic gradually began easing over the last year, and particularly as companies earlier this year began ushering workers to return to physical offices, some critics suggested remote workers “waste time”.
Even a few notable figures suggested they believed those who work from home were not as productive as when working in physical offices, despite evidence to the contrary.
Reboot’s new study shows that in actuality, the reverse is true.
It also reflects some of the sentiments long expressed by remote and hybrid workers themselves — that they are able to get more work done when they have the flexibility to set their own work terms and work in environments that are most comfortable for them without distractions like office chit-chat.
Find the latest remote jobs in the UK via RemoteWorker.co.uk.