Page 22 - Office VIBES® New Year Issue

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WORK FROM HOME
Research carried out by Finder.com found that 40% of Brits, approximately 22.1 million people, work from home at least some of the time. 1 in 7 (14%) work exclusively from home whilst 1 in 4 (26%) are hybrid workers. The post-Covid world means that many employees now work outside of the main office but how productive are they?
• More than 80% of hybrid workers watch television whilst doing their day job, for an average of two hours per day (source: TonerGiant)
• One in 10 workers say they regularly take a nap when working from home, with the most popular period being between 3pm and 4pm (source: Reign Storm)
• More than a third of workers fake productivity (source: Workhuman)
It’s clear that some remote employees are finding cute ways to play hooky. One healthcare worker toldTheTelegraph that “they wiggle their mouse a lot when work is slower and take the opportunity to watchTV. It keeps my system active, so no one knows I’m not really working”.You can even buy mouse and keyboard jigglers to do it for you!
Whilst working from home presents the perfect opportunity to get some household chores done, walk the dog or watch the next episode of your favourite boxset, employers are getting wise and using software to track productivity. Starbucks, AstraZeneca and Nestlé all use software to monitor chats whilst other companies track IP addresses to keep an eye on your location, algorithms can identify keyboard strokes and mouse movement and there are various software packages that track
time on social media platforms and phone calls. Earlier this year, US bank Wells Fargo fired several members of staff after claims that they were faking keyboard activity to make it appear as if they were working when they were not.
Working from home offers many benefits including no commute, flexibility with family and a more relaxed dress code but take note that the Employment Practices: monitoring at work impact assessment report by the Information Commissioner’s Office shows that 70% of employees believe they will be monitored at work whilst away from the office. Employers put trust in their employees to work efficiently and productively, nobody expects you to be working 100% of the time but if you are faking it, the chances are that you will be caught in the act.
FAKERS
Source: The Telegraph