What are people doing with all that time by not commuting?
Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York have found that workers across multiple age brackets are sleeping more, pursuing more leisure activities, and cutting overall work hours.
Using data from WFH Research’s American Time Use Survey (ATUS), as of June 2022, 15% of full-time employees work fully remote, 55% are full-time at the office, and 30% work hybrid.
They found that employed individuals allocate their saved commute time toward leisure activities and sleeping while reducing overall work hours.
The analysis found that remote workers spend more time on leisure and sleeping. Younger Americans reported spending more time at social events, eating at restaurants or bars, and exercising. Older age groups allocated more time to childcare, household chores and repairs, and meal preparation.
That said, it’s not all slacking. A survey from the Conference Board shows that eighty-one percent of workers are putting the as much effort, or more, as they were six months ago. Just getting the baseline of work done is harder during a labor shortage.
Why do we care?
Pushing back on two narratives. First, that employees are lazy. That isn’t what the data shows – and a reminder, yesterday I covered the Surgeon General pushing back on toxic workplaces as a health concern.
The second is the larger narrative which I prioritize – employees are people. That sounds simple. Of course, they are. That said, most of the conversation about employee management focuses on just their in-office experiences, which leaves out all the detail of them as human beings. The successful leaders I talk to have a similar thread – viewing people more holistically. I want to continue to highlight that as we make business analysis.