Working from Home Is Great…Except for The Kids, The Dogs, The Dishwasher and the Television

New Survey Unveils the Biggest Distractions and Tips to Beat Them

 ‘Tis the season for Santa, snow…and long travel days. Families across the country are coming together to celebrate and be merry, but what happens when the eggnog runs out and the work you left stockpiled on your desk starts to rear its ugly head? The kids are in the living room watching TV, cousins are cooking in the kitchen and grandpa is set-up in the dining room table with a 5,000-piece puzzle. How will you ever get any work done?

For the next few weeks, office workers will join the 10 percent of Americans, who work from home at least some of the time, according to data recently released by the Census Bureau.  And not everyone sees working from home as an efficient and sustainable way to do business.

According to a recent survey by Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible workspace, almost half of American professionals admit they have difficulty maintaining productivity when working from the home office.

Regus canvassed the opinions of business professionals across the United States and identified the top 5 distractions when working from home in Atlanta and nationally:

1. Children and family wanting attention (59% Atlanta, 58% nationally)

2. Children, family and pets disturbing work telephone calls (42% Atlanta, 44% nationally)

3. Difficulties accessing office equipment (printer, fax, photocopier 29% Atlanta, 27% nationally)

4. Household noises such as bell ringing, washing machine, dishwasher (25% Atlanta and nationally)

5. Temptation to keep the television on as company (18% Atlanta, 23% nationally)

Despite this unique set of challenges, a combination of advancements in mobile technology making it easier  to work from home and many companies looking to reduce real estate costs, means more and more people will find themselves calling their home their office.

Guillermo Rotman, CEO Regus Americas, offers five tips home workers should consider to improve the work-at-home experience, especially during the holiday season:

• Create Parameters: Set rules with family and friends, and let them know when you are not available. Most importantly, ensure they are aware of any scheduled conference calls in order to limit any background noises or interruptions, so clients don’t feel you’re working in an unprofessional environment.
• Establish a Routine:  Working from home can lead to working around the clock.  Set blocks of time for work and stick to the schedule. Following a schedule will reduce the chances of burnout.  Do not turn on the television during your set working hours, and laundry can wait until after 5 p.m.

• Keep Lines of Communication Open: Maintaining regular contact with colleagues and managers will ensure status of projects and deadlines are understood by all. This means it will keep you motivated to stay ahead while working from home.   Use technology like videoconferencing and instant messaging to remain in constant contact.

• Utilize Flexible Workspace Options: Making the right impression with clients is very important. There are flexible options to establish a presence outside the home where you can meet with colleagues and clients, print off large documents in color, focus at a desk as opposed to your couch.   These spaces are available by the hour or day.

• Avoid Isolation:   Feeling out of touch?  Leave your home office drop in to a collaborative work environment, attend networking events and plan business lunches.   These are a great place to connect and network with other professionals.

About Regus

Regus is the world’s largest provider of flexible workplaces, with products and services ranging from fully equipped offices to professional meeting rooms, business lounges and the world’s largest network of video communication studios. Regus enables people to work their way, whether it’s from home, on the road or from an office. Customers such as Google, GlaxoSmithKline, and Nokia join hundreds of thousands of growing small and medium businesses that benefit from outsourcing their office and workplace needs to Regus, allowing them to focus on their core activities.

More than a million customers a day benefit from Regus facilities spread across a global footprint of 1,300 locations in 550 cities and 97 countries, which allow individuals and companies to work wherever, however and whenever they want to. Regus was founded in Brussels, Belgium in 1989, is headquartered in Luxembourg and listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information please visit: www.regus.com.

About the Survey

The polling data is the result of Regus’ latest Business Confidence Index – a bi-annual global survey of 24,000 professionals in 92 countries. The United Sates statistics are based on the results from 6,037 business professionals.

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