Survey: Working from home isn’t working. Productivity, Costs, kids and back pain
A survey of 144 people working from home was carried out online in the past week by Darby & Associates Chartered Quantity Surveyors. Our findings:
Working at Home saw Productivity gains and losses
14% say their working from home setup is a struggle
35% would rather go back to work due to their current setup
Just 15% said they have a good setup and can work from home indefinitely
Childcare is a big issue for working from home
20% have noticed an increase in back pain
25% cannot upgrade their space to work from home properly
73% of respondents felt the cost of building work would be their main concern to upgrade to work from home
Findings:
The home office isn’t working
On whether the current working from home space is suitable only 15% said they could work from there indefinitely. 36% said if they were to work from there long term they would make some changes, while 35% said it just functions and would prefer to be in their normal place of work. Worryingly 14% said their working from home setup is a daily struggle.
Better desks, chairs, back pain
We found that 34% of people were using a smaller desk and 37% were using a kitchen table, island or other. 33% of people were using an inferior desk chair that will “get them through the restrictions” while 29% use a chair they would never use in work. Worryingly, 20% of respondents noticed an increase in back pain since starting to work from home.
Home setup changes, better chairs and desk, light and privacy:
When asked what changes they would make instantly if there were no cost implications, 79% said they would want a better chair or standing desk. 30% of those asked wanted more light, better wifi and better privacy. Privacy was a hot topic in this survey where a quarter or respondents were worried about intrusions on a work phone/video call.
Productivity gains for many not all
Productivity levels varied greatly between respondents, with 12% saying they were equally as productive compared with their normal place of work. 58% said they were more productive while 30% said they were less productive. - We believe from our data that the home setup itself and lack of privacy is contributing to some people being less productive.
A proper Working From Home setup - 25% can’t upgrade
Our survey asked what the respondent would do to improve their working from home setup. 22% would like to upgrade an existing room, 18% considered conversion of an attic space. 25% cannot upgrade their space to work from home properly as 16% were renting and felt upgrading their existing spaces was not an option and 9% felt they had no space to upgrade.
Costs are a big factor for a dedicated working from home space
When we asked people in the survey if they would extend, renovate, or convert their attic 73% of respondents felt the cost of building work would be their main concern followed by 29% concerned about the disruption it would cause in the home. 19% said the risks around COVID-19 and having tradesmen in their house would be a concern.
Survey Responses received 4th – 11th May 2020
Some interesting comments back:
· We have only one adult working from home. If both spouses were working from home things would be very, very different from a resource/privacy/internet perspective.
· It’s given me a better work/life balance
· It’s isolating when used to being a team
· We have an open plan mezzanine flat so everything is open plan!
· Missing the social aspect and being able to discuss things with colleagues
· Enjoy it much more than my very long commute
· I’m sick of seeing the same four walls for breakfast lunch dinner work and tv
· Despite all the difficulties, the same deliverables are expected. Little or no allowance made of having to mind kids all day while working. Wok day is constantly disrupted by kids stuff.
· A first-floor extension for another bedroom and dedicated office is the medium-term plan
· Prefer having a place of work to commute to. Don’t like associating my home with work
· Unsuitable
· No childcare and 3 young children <7 has a massive impact on my ability to work efficiently
· It is going to become popular going forward
· Losing my mind
· Less stressful, away from a very bullying and stressful work environment is great a mixture of the two would be great
· I find that I do intervals of work like 2 hours then have a break for 10/15 min then go again for 2 hours etc which keeps productivity high
· The hardest thing is working from home and home schooling !
· Working and living in the same building is not sustainable!
· Working harder and longer, checking emails every day at weekends
· Noise cancel headphones a must, car becomes office for certain calls, like being home with family the instant I finish
· Can get up a bit later or earlier if need be. Miss the Craic of work. Neighbours practicing Drums in their back garden can be challenging. Having to plan around others schedule (Wife and home working daughter). Biting tongue takes practice but getting there
· It’s hell
· It has been much more straightforward than initially envisaged
· In some jobs /industries there is no reason people couldn't work from home full time but I have to admit i miss the banter and the chats in the office which can't be replicated on a zoom call
· We are expected to work from home like we don’t have kids. Expected to be on skype calls for 2.5+ hours which is hard with young preschool children. I brought this up but was told I could walk out of the meeting if I needed to, not v satisfactory as children of this age need supervision. Partner is a frontline worker so isn’t here
· The saving on the commute is the big win. I would like a 50/50 split between office and home working
· Construction Companies will be reluctant to encore working from home as they will not trust people to do their work.
· Adopting the right mindset & having flexibility are key to making it work! Adaptation is everything
· It would be great if employers allowed flexibility after this pandemic to allow employees to work from home. It should be about output not hours
· Some distractions in and around the home I feel I'm not as productive but if it was more long term I could address these and ensure productivity was at a normal level. The commute is definitely easier
· Keeping focused is tough with external distractions like neighbours washing etc
· It will change the face of construction for meetings and connectivity and technology will play a bigger part in the industry going forward.
· It could work well if better organised given the circumstances it’s manageable
· I’m glad that I have a job and I can work from home but I find the week very long and tiring . Video calls are exhausting.
· Miss the interaction with people in work but don't miss the commute
· Productivity would be as high as work for most stuff if childcare was there. Meetings can be less effective virtually than sitting in the same room and talking to someone quickly without having to arrange a call / video call.
· Feels like there's less of a connection with colleagues. On the plus side, decisions are made quicker ( not spending too much time discussing matters on Zoom), the down side, things are not given the same attention.
· Re the Question re productivity. Normally working from home I'm more productive, now however is completely different to normal as the kids have no creche so are here. This makes it far more challenging to be productive.
· Mind wanders
· Managing children is a huge challenge
· Working from home is fine when you aren’t also home-schooling
· A balance between working at home and the office would be nice over the week. Cutting out commuting time would free up some valuable hours in the day and still allow you to put in the same work day.
· Would love it 3 or 4 days a week, saves so much time on the commute also
· It has slowed down some simple decision making processes, as it requires calls and emails with colleagues working from home, rather than throwing your head around the corner in the office and ask them.
· Improve infrastructure - better wifi, printer(A3), scanner etc.
· Better light generally at desk. General fittings dont provide the right lux level.
· Working from home is becoming the new normal and will be probably be with us for the future so it’s worth making the space your working from as comfortable as possible.
· I'm pleasantly surprised by how well my WiFi has met the requirements of working from home. Eir is my provider
· Better work life balance
· It's peaceful, the sound of the Luas is replaced by the sound of birds. The weather is great which encourages walks over the beaches and Sans dunes in the evenings. No traffic, no crowds but as productive, if not more than at my desk in city centre Dublin. I miss Marks and Spencer though, the only downside!!!!