School vacations mean stress for home office workers
New research shows that during school vacations, the "home office" is not always an oasis of calm for parents. More than half (62%) of people believe that distractions from family members are the main obstacle to their own productivity.
For many working parents, the summer vacations can cause stress instead of being a time of rest and relaxation. With most children in Switzerland out of school starting in July, many parents choose to work from home to balance both work and childcare. But productivity can suffer from distractions like family, pets or even noisy household appliances.
The biggest disruptive factors in the home office
The 2019 Global Workspace Survey, conducted by the world's leading flexible workplace solutions provider, IWG (International Workplace Group), found that work interruptions due to children or other family members are the biggest barrier to professionals taking advantage of working from home. The study of 15,000 respondents from 80 countries around the world found that more than half (62%) are distracted by their own family when working from home. The second most common reason given by home office workers is that work phone calls are often interrupted by children, families or pets (45%).
The top 5 hurdles for those working in a home office:
- Children or families in need of attention (62%)
- Children, families and pets interfering with professional phone calls (45%)
- Difficulty accessing office equipment (printer, fax, photocopier, etc.) (43%).
- Household sounds like doorbells, washing machine, dishwasher (32%)
- Pets demanding attention (25%)
Increasingly, companies are offering their employees the ability to choose where, when and how they work, and there are benefits on both sides. Flexibility not only makes workers happier and healthier, but it can also have a direct impact on a company's health, with 85% of companies reporting a significant increase in employee productivity.
Alternatives to the home office
Location is an important factor in how easy it is for employees to switch back and forth between work and private life - especially for parents during the summer vacations. Flexible-use offices, such as those offered by Regus or Spaces, can provide an alternative to the home office. Working parents can massively shorten their commute times through such flexible workplace providers, which are now located in many regions in Switzerland. With two-fifths of people worldwide considering the daily drive or commute to work the worst part of their day (40%), working close to home is an increasingly popular option. In doing so, workers enjoy the newfound mental freedom, the facilities of a professional work environment in
close to home and thus work more productively. At the same time, being close to home makes it possible to balance productive work with adequate care for children during summer vacations.
Source: IWG
