That’s in response to new analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, launched Tuesday. The Fed’s knowledge comes from the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), which tracked how staff spent their new inflow of spare time. Sorry, bosses: It revealed that the majority of that point went towards sleep and private actions, to not work.

Youthful employees tended to spend extra hours per week on leisure actions, which embody the whole lot from socializing at bars or eating places to exercising through a future or going to a exercise class. Older employees, alternatively, spent extra time on family chores and childcare. 

Throughout age teams, nevertheless, everybody received extra sleep—an inarguably good thing. Specialists say long-term sleep deprivation creates a string of opposed office outcomes, together with lessened productiveness, a weaker consideration span, and a shorter mood.

The report’s findings “lend credence to the assorted stories on staff’ preferences for versatile work preparations, provided that slicing the commute permits folks to spend their time on different actions,” the Fed’s analysis crew wrote. “This added advantage of working from dwelling—for many who need it—will probably be an vital consideration for the way forward for versatile work preparations.”

Necessary consideration may be underselling it. A 28,000-person survey performed by Cisco earlier this 12 months discovered that 78% of employees mentioned distant work improved their general well-being. Most staff mentioned they spent their additional time with household, associates, and pets, adopted by “self-care.” Three-quarters of employees mentioned working from dwelling improved their household relationships, and greater than half mentioned it strengthened their friendships. 

To not be ignored, a considerate hybrid work association permitting for max flexibility additionally makes employees considerably less likely to quit. In spite of everything, having the ability to go surfing from a house workplace doesn’t simply save tens of millions of hours; it additionally saves a piece of cash. In accordance with a 2021 analysis from LendingTree, full-time staff within the 10 largest U.S. cities lose a mean of $5,679 commuting to work. 

In different phrases, if the push and pull of return to work is exhibiting any indicators of decision, the confirmed drawbacks of the commute solely add gas to the stay-at-home crowd’s hearth.