‘Working from home’ might mean ‘walking the dog’

When asked if they’ve ever done outside-of-work tasks inside of work hours, remote workers answered honestly: Absolutely.

Just 23% of respondents said they never spend their remote workday doing personal tasks.

64% said they sometimes take care of personal tasks during the workday.

Another 13% said they always have something personal to get done while on the clock.

While they are working remotely, the majority of these employees are also taking care of a few personal errands, whether it be picking the kids up from school in the afternoon or taking the dog for a walk around midday. When asked how much time they spend on personal tasks, remote workers fessed up about that, too.

30% said they spend 30 minutes a day doing personal tasks during work, while 39% said they spend an hour or more on such personal errands.

But here’s the thing: Taking a little time to exercise Fido or enjoy a long lunch isn’t unexpected. In fact, employers of remote workers thought their remote employees were spending more time at home doing personal tasks.

70% of employers said they thought their remote workers were sometimes taking care of personal tasks while on the clock, and nearly 25% said they estimated that time to be about two hours a day.

So what’s going on here? If bosses know their remote employees aren’t always working, why not call back the troops? What’s keeping employers from demanding their remote workers stop wasting time?