According to research by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans who work from home have reclaimed over 60 million hours they used to spend commuting to an office each day. Instead of wasting them on traffic or long car rides, they use them to get more sleep.
Among the top-of-mind benefits of remote work, productivity and no commute come to mind. But what is the real impact of avoiding commute? The Federal Reserve Bank of New York analyzed data from the American Time Use Survey to understand what US workers spend their time on when they are not commuting. These are the results.
Less Commute Means More Sleep
According to the report, employees now spend fewer hours working and more on sleep and leisure. Even as some companies are slowly returning to the office, still 15% work entirely remotely, and 30% have hybrid schedules, according to Standford University research by Nick Bloom.
Employees can be more productive working remotely, as they get more time to sleep and to do leisure activities they couldn’t do before.
The report mentioned how this benefit of working from home will be important for the future of flexible work benefits.
Younger employees spend more time on leisure, going to restaurants, bars, or working out. Older workers were more inclined to do domestic tasks such as cooking or taking care of their children.
All the groups got at least an extra hour of sleep.
