With petrol prices on the increase and more families trying to combine home life and a good career, flexible working is ever more popular. A popular misconception is that working from home is an ‘easy option’ and equates to laziness.
It has recently been discovered, however, that working from home actually means putting in more hours than working in an office, not less.
The study that uncovered this information, which was co-authored by a professor from the Department of Sociology and the Population Research Centre in Texas, Jennifer Glass, also highlighted the fact that 30 percent of those surveyed said that they do an addition five to seven hours when working from home.
Due to the ability to organise your time in a non-standard way when working from home, many of these hours are done at non-conventional times. Some workers even put in a standard working week in the office and then work from home (or telecommuting as it is also known) after hours, clocking up dozens of overtime hours.
Whilst this dedication is commendable, it is not ideal for corporate wellness. The research also showed that working from home means that work life and home life become closely linked, and erodes work/life balance and deteriorates the wellbeing of employees. This is especially the case when the same technology that permits telecommuting also allows workers to perform tasks from home when they are ill or when they are on holiday.
This erosion of home life and blurring of boundaries between work and private time is something that needs to be carefully monitored so that, as telecommuting continues to increase in popularity, it is not used as a tool for employers to increase the expectations on their employees.
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