Do you handle personal tasks, such as surfing the web to shop or leaving work to run errands, during work hours? Well, if you’ve struggled with achieving the ever elusive “work-life balance, this may be a good thing. A recent study by Captivate, a digital media company for reaching on-the-go professionals, shows “Homing From Work,†which involves taking care of personal and family needs during the workday, improves work/life balance.
Let’s face it, employees handling personal matters while at work is nothing new. And, we know most companies have a strict policy on performing non-job related activities while on the job. But considering there’s a 30 percent
rise in the number of people working more than nine hours a day, since 2011–proves that work tasks are increasingly creeping into employees’ personal lives. And, strict policies that prohibit employees from doing personal chores at work are outdated.“People seem to be getting more comfortable with putting in longer hours,†said Scott Marden, research director at Captivate Network. “Part of that appears to come from the growing ability to take care of personal business during the workday.
Here are a several other highlights from the survey:
– 93% of today’s professionals are “Homing from Work†or taking care of personal and family needs during their workday.
– 63 percent admitted to shopping online at work — or surfing the web.
– 34 percent left the office for retail therapy.
– 31 percent admitted to running errands during the day.
Captivate’s, Office Pulse survey looks at the experiences, insights and opinions of a panel of more than 4,000 white-collar workers across North America.