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As countries across the globe urge residents to stay indoors in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, 76.3 percent of those working from home in the Middle East work as well or better at home, a new survey revealed.
While 34.3 percent said that their productivity has increased while working from home, 42 percent said they are just as productive working from home as they are in the office and 20.9 percent said they were less productive at home than in an office, according to a survey from Forbes Middle East.
“Working from home is likely to continue, even after the health risks are reduced, as respondents feel that productivity is better at home than in the office, and communication is not a significant barrier due to technology,” Forbes Middle East noted.
The majority of respondents (64.8 percent) said they work in a quiet and separate room to stay away from distractions and 4 percent said they turn off phone notifications.
Nine percent of respondents of the survey, which was conducted in the beginning of April, among the people in Middle East, included CEOs.
Challenges
For 23.9 percent of respondents, the biggest challenge of working from home is distractions; another 18.9 percent consider unstable internet connections as their biggest challenge, and 19.1 percent blamed their surrounding environment.
Communication is less of a barrier than bad internet connection, environment and distractions with only 17 percent saying it is the biggest problem they are facing.
People in the region are staying indoors as much as possible to avoid contacting the virus, the survey revealed.
Non-physical activities
Other than working, 37.7 percent of respondents said they keep their mind active during isolation by reading, while 14.3 percent said they play games in their spare time, 18.1 percent are taking an online course and 9.2 percent keep their mind active through writing.
Out of the 20.7 percent that answered “others”, watching TV was the most common answer.
Physical activities
Home exercise is the most common physical activity, with 40.4 percent saying they exercise at home to keep their body active.
22.8 percent are getting their physical activity through cleaning. While 19.8 percent of the respondents cook, and 7.3 percent are learning new skills.
(Writing by Gerard Aoun; editing by Seban Scaria)
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