Gumtree.pl: home office blurs the boundaries between work and private life

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According to 42% of white-collar workers working remotely, home office blurs the line between work and private life. On the one hand, it gives you the opportunity to spend more time with your family and to customize your working hours. On the other hand, employees point out the problem of how difficult it is to organize remote work with a child at home.

Household chores are major distractions

According to a survey conducted by ARC Rynek i Opinia on behalf of Gumtree.pl. nearly half of employees (42%) who have the opportunity to work remotely, believes that home office blurs the line between professional responsibilities and private life. For 17% of respondents, concentration at work is a major problem. Among the most frequently mentioned distractions, employees indicated household duties; such as babysitting or cleaning. Respondents equally often emphasized the aspect of watching TV while performing their professional duties.

In the survey, employees were also given the opportunity to identify positive elements associated with working from home. More than half (54%) perceive such elements. These include the opportunity to spend more time with children and family, flexible hours or the choice to work anywhere. For 44%, remote work is a kind of variety that protects against job burnout.

“The transition to fully working remotely stirred up a lot of emotions from the beginning, both positive and negative. On the one hand, joy arose that we would have the opportunity to work from a place that is most convenient for us. On the other hand, there was a problem with employers contacting their employees outside of the designated working hours, and in this way the line between work and private sphere began to blur“. – Katarzyna Merska, Gumtree.pl Communications Coordinator commented.

Lack of adequate legal regulations

The authors of the survey also noted that although many employers have adopted this form of work, to date the Labour Code does not regulate the provisions of home office. Among the important issues that should be included in the regulations, respondents pointed out: the size of the hour of remote work, the establishment of rules for the use of company equipment or the requirement to include remote work in the contract. According to the announcement of the Deputy Minister of Development, work on the regulation of remote working in the Labour Code is expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2021.

We wrote about the future of remote work some time ago. According to CBRE Group, remote work will stay with us longer, but already some employees miss working in the office. When asked what is the optimal model of performing work, most respond that mixed. You can find more information about this study here: https://ictmarketexperts.com/en/news/remote-work-for-longer/