SA workers admit to napping and watching movies while working from home in new survey

Two in five Australians have admitted to doing non-work related activities while on the clock, with SA workers revealing what they are really getting up to while working from home.

Taking a nap, doing chores and watching movies are some of the things that SA workers are getting up to while working from home, new research reveals.

A national Finder survey of more than 1000 people found two in five Aussies have done something “controversial” while working from home in the past year.

In SA, 27 per cent of local respondents said they had watched a movie during work hours, while others confessed to doing chores (16 per cent), taking long naps (27 per cent), applying for other jobs (14 per cent), looking after kids (11 per cent) and even having “intimate time” with a partner (16 per cent) while on the clock.

Finder personal finance expert Taylor Blackburn said the data shows why some bosses are keen to get staff back to the office.

A survey has shown some people nap while working from home. Picture: iStock

“It tells you that not everybody is being judicious with their time when they’re at home but it’s hard to paint everyone with a broad brush either because there are many great remote workers out there who are very productive,” he said.

He said the results show Millennials were the most likely to admit to non-work activities.

“If you’re a realist, you know that people are probably going to be dealing with personal stuff when they’re at home … but they also don’t have to commute and can spend more time on the tools. There’s pros and cons with remote work – this survey just highlights some of those cons.”

But UniSA work-from-home expert Professor Marie Wilson argues that most research shows remote workers are actually highly effective, despite managerial fears.

She warned that bosses relying on monitoring software — like programs that track mouse movements or keystrokes — can create a poor work environment that can feel unsafe and signal to staff they’re not trusted.

“If you don’t trust your employees, they won’t trust you as an employer,” she said.

“Instead of monitoring keystrokes, they should be thinking about how they create more effective managers who can actually make the most of flexibility for themselves and the employees.”

The work from home debate flared again recently after Adelaide University Deputy Vice Chancellor Paula Ward resigned weeks after sparking backlash for claiming staff working from home on Mondays and Fridays were taking “four-day weekends”.

Prof Wilson called the comments “unhelpful and uninformed.”

Ahead of the UniSA–Adelaide University merger, she said both institutions were working hard to build a better workplace culture.

“Everyone’s trying very hard to bring two very large organisations together, and so there will be some missteps along the way, but at base, both of them are working together on their employment agreement right now and that will set parameters to kind of build the right kind of workplace going forward.”

Meanwhile the Office of the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment (OCPSE) said flexible work-from-home arrangements have been available to SA public servants since October 2000, describing them as a key tool for attracting and keeping top talent.

“While OCPSE does not have agency level data on the precise breakdown of days worked remotely under hybrid work arrangements, generally, most arrangements would have 1-2 days a week working remotely, with the remaining days worked onsite,” a spokeswoman said.

Originally published as SA workers admit to napping and watching movies while working from home in new survey