Coronavirus causing Americans to struggle with work-life balance
66% say their work has extended into the night and over the weekends more than ever before
As the coronavirus pandemic persists, Americans are finding it harder to create a proper work-life balance.
In a new survey by JDP, 33 percent of Americans revealed they are working longer hours than before. Nearly half, 49 percent, of those who revealed they are working longer hours said the reason for their extended day is that they are unable to keep boundaries between work and their home life.
This comes amid a time when a majority of workers are forced to work from the confines of their home for the foreseeable future as the country continues to grapple with the progression of the pandemic.
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In fact, 66 percent of Americans admit that their work has extended well into the night and over the weekend more than ever before, according to data from JDP.
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What's more, 54 percent admitted they are faced with more distractions at home rather than in the office, which can tack on added hours to the workday.
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"When people get pushed around more by home distractions they’re unfamiliar with, it extends their day," said Jeff Wizceb, executive vice president for client experience at JDP. "Many of us still have the same workloads, we still have deadlines, so if we get distracted for two hours midday, our workday gets two hours longer. And that adds up, which is why we see work spilling over into the weekends."
By comparison, 29 percent say they felt more distracted in the office and 17 percent feel as though they have the same amount of distractions at work and home.
However, data revealed that people are distracted whether they’re at home or the office, the only difference is that people aren't used to dealing with the distractions they may have at home, Wizceb said.
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"It’s one thing to absorb the distraction of a coworker who stops by to discuss something unexpectedly, which we’ve all managed hundreds of times," he said. "It’s a whole other challenge to watch a child and deal with your inbox at the same time."
Wizceb also noted that the "social restrictions of the pandemic really tamp down our sense of weekends," which only exacerbate our struggle in attaining a work-life balance.
For the purpose of the study, JPD polled 2,038 Americans over a five-day period from June 12 to June 16 who typically work in an office in some form.