Home, Office Distinction Blurs

Twenty percent of employed persons did some or all of their work at home in 2007, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The BLS study also found:

Hours worked at home averaged 2.8 hours per day, while hours worked at a workplace averaged 7.9 hours per day.

Men and women were equally likely to do some or all of their work at home.

Self-employed workers were more likely than wage and salary workers to have done some work at home—55% vs. 16%.

Multiple jobholders were almost twice as likely to work on an average weekend day as were single jobholders—62% vs. 33%.

Watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time, accounting for about half of leisure time, on average, for both men and women.

On an average day, 20% of men did housework compared with 52% of women. Thirty-seven percent of men prepared food compared with 64% of women.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2007 American Time Use Survey, www.bls.gov.