The Commute Downstairs

Working from home may not be as great as you think. A new study has
found that people who work from home are not always happier than those
who keep work locked in the office. They are likely to work longer hours
and end up with more family conflict.

Ellen Kossek, Ph.D., a professor of labor and industrial relations
at Michigan State University, surveyed nearly 400 employees from a
variety of companies for one year. She found that people who only work in
the office spent on average 43 hours a week doing their jobs. Employees
with home offices spent 45 hours per week at their jobs. And those who
worked from three places-for example, teleworking from a café in
addition to the home and office-spent an average of 52 hours per week on
the job.

The blurring of the boundaries between work and home is here to
stay, says Kossek, so it's important that we learn to manage it. She does
not recommend that companies drop work flexibility. Instead, she suggests
that out-of-office workers try to establish a strong divide between work
and family life.