Brits are wasting more time on dating websites than ever before. Results showed a lot of our time is being consumed by online dating, with 59 percent of women and 62 percent of men admitting to spending time at work on the likes of Match, Tinder and OKCupid. That’s according to a recent poll by online freelance marketplace PeoplePerHour.
Survey findings confirm, what employers already suspected, as 87 percent say the main time wasting activity was down to surfing non work related sites. It’s not only dating websites that are popular either, time-wasting workers admitted to using social media websites (78 percent) news websites (58 percent) online retailers (32 percent) and gaming (12 percent). Other common activities that burn daylight include, making a brew (91 percent) and having to answer pesky cold calls (21 percent). Although the average Brit spends 60 minutes commuting each day, 43 percent put their journey to good use. Train and bus users found time to work on projects whilst travelling (32 percent), others who walk to work said they made work related calls or sent emails on the way (23 percent). More 18-24 year olds admitted they wasted more time at work than any other age group (39 percent) whilst 40-50 year olds were the most unlikely to admit to dawdling with only 9 percent saying they got preoccupied on non-related topics in the office.
Some industrious Brits are utilising a 30-60 minute lunch break. One in ten of the participants in the survey said they found one of the best uses of their ‘free’ lunchtime was to cram in some moonlighting. Women were more likely than men to work on freelance projects in their lunch hours. Most likely activities included writing blog posts, research and personal shopping. Results found Friday to be the least industrious work day, with minds focusing on the weekend ahead, motivation dropped. During the after lunch lull (2-3pm) workers held their hands up and said they are most likely to procrastinate. Making up for lost time, workers say they put Tuesdays to the best use, with productivity levels being at their highest.
Xenios Thrasyvoulou, founder and CEO of PeoplePerHour comments: “Office work can become repetitive particularly with the same starting and finishing times day in and day out. With more people working from their own devices they make up for time lost at work in the day by working on their commute or even during evenings and weekends, often completing more than their contracted hours despite the distractions at work. Following the most recent surge in moonlighting and mobile work, it also comes as no surprise to see some industrious Brits are utilising their otherwise underused lunch time to earn some extra cash.”Sun protection is never out of season for outdoor workers: Gaps in employers’ sun-safe policies are putting outdoor workers at risk of harmful UV radiation exposure, according to new research from AXA PPP healthcare.*
