Employers everywhere are going to love this one—70% of remote workers in the US think it’s okay to do household chores and run errands during the workday as long as “the work” gets done. 

That’s based on a survey by Stagwell’s Harris Poll for Bloomberg. Yes, Bloomberg the media company run by one-time presidential candidate and three-time Mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg. 

The same Michael Bloomberg who last summer criticized the Biden Administration in a Washington Post op-ed for allowing too many federal workers to remain working at home leaving Washington D.C. looking like a “shadow of its former self.” 

Leading the list of acceptable chores, per the survey—doing the laundry. Close to half (43%) say it’s okay to do laundry in between zoom meetings while working at home. I get that. You pop the clothes into the washer and then it’s back to your desk. Or dining room table or wherever your WFH workspace happens to be.  

But mowing the lawn? Yep, a fair number of respondents (15%) said they thought it was okay to mow the lawn while on the proverbial clock. A little cheeky if you ask me but hey, if they want to extend their workday to accommodate yardwork and their day-job workload, who am I to argue?  

But the survey also suggests that people believe there’s a price to pay for remote working. While 63% said they prefer it in some form (if it were up to them), 57% of hybrid workers believe it hurts career progression. And half say they worry that not being in the office makes them vulnerable to job cuts and chances for promotions.  

I’m guessing for those who mow the lawn during working hours that’s not a big concern.