Survey: Brits makes 250min of video calls per week
March 22, 2022
Two years on since working from home was first introduced, research from Sky Broadband reveals that Brits have reached an era of balance, as the majority of office workers now spend three days a week working in the office, and the other two working remotely.
The new ‘3:2 week’ has had a positive impact, with one in two (52 per cent) describing their work/life balance as “much better” compared to two years ago, almost half (45 per cent) state their relationships with colleagues and clients have greatly improved and one in five (20 per cent) are now more satisfied in their jobs. For those still working fully from home, the research found that in-person contact with peers is a top priority as a third (33 per cent) admit they miss interacting with their colleagues in person.
With homes becoming a new remote office for part of the week, the way Brits are living and working has also impacted where they set-up at home. A quarter of Brits (25 per cent) now have a dedicated office space – where there’s the right tech, seating, and the all-important strong WiFi connection. A further quarter (26 per cent) of Brits sit at the kitchen table, a fifth (21 per cent) on the sofa, and one in ten (11 per cent) admit to working from whichever area of the house happens to have the best broadband connection.
Despite working twenty minutes more per day, with the average working Brit starting work at 8:20am and clocking off at 17:40pm, compared to 8:30am and 17:30pm two years ago, a third (33 per cent) prefer the hybrid way of work, and over one in four (28 per cent) say they’re more productive.
A shift to hybrid working has seen the nation come to depend on fast and reliable broadband for work, and not just in the traditional sense. The research found that despite Brits participating in an average of 48 minutes of calls with colleagues, clients, or suppliers, spending 38 minutes sending work WhatsApps, and joining up to three video calls a day, they’re also finding time to scroll through social media eight times, look at online shopping sites twice, and share at least three funny memes with friends or colleagues.
How Brits spend their time during work hours across an average working week:
- Taking up to three power naps
- Spending up to 170 minutes for lunch – 34 minutes daily
- Being on 250 minutes of video calls – but still making and receiving 240 minutes of traditional calls
- Indulging in four episodes of TV in the background or during breaks
- Drinking 10 cups of tea or coffee
- Eating 13 snacks
- Chatting to friends on WhatsApp up to 40 times
- Playing with their pets up to nine times
- Sending 170 emails
Over the past two years, the study found that well over half (64 per cent) of those polled have invested in upgrading their work from home space, one in five (20 per cent) have purchased a new laptop or computer, 19 per cent have opted for new furniture, 16 per cent treated themselves to new stationery and 13 per cent upgraded to faster home broadband.
Things Brits enjoy about hybrid working:
- Avoiding a daily commute – 47 per cent
- Comfy clothing – 47 per cent
- Spending less money – 41 per cent
- Being able to use their own bathrooms – 36 per cent
- Being able to have a lie in – 29 per cent
What Brits miss about the office:
- Banter – 36 per cent
- Interacting with colleagues – 33 per cent
- Gossip face-to-face – 25 per cent
- Collaborating with colleagues – 24 per cent
- Feeling connected to people – 23 per cent
Amber Pine, Managing Director of Sky Broadband said: “With many of us now spending part of our week working from home, just as good coffee and reliable tech are essential WFH companions for many of us, a strong WiFi connection in every room is more important than ever. Sky Broadband offers superfast speeds and a reliable connection for the ultimate stress-free flexible working set-up.”
Ellie Taylor, Comedian, Actress, and Writer said: “I like many was thrown into an unknown world of WFH in lockdown trying to juggle between writing on my laptop, replying to relentless work emails, avoiding toddler tantrums with screen time, and indulging in some sanity-saving sessioning of Game of Thrones. Like the research from Sky Broadband reveals, having a reliable WiFi connection was a saviour in our household – for work and play – and the pandemic reinforced that.”
This research of 1,500 UK based Brits aged 18 and over was commissioned by Sky Broadband and conducted by Perspectus Global during March 2022.