According to the survey, 1 in 7 workers in remote work often spend their work hours having sex, doing home chores, scrolling social media or shopping online instead of clocking in the complete hours in front of the desk. This survey has fuelled the long-standing debate on working from home vs work from office. While the possibility that people are having sex during work hours may sound repulsive. There are various other stats that one needs to keep in mind while looking at this report. The biggest one - the 2015 Time Out survey, which confirmed that 39% of office workers admit to masturbating at their workplace. And the numbers are sure to have grown since then. The question then arises, why is the possibility of workers having sex during work hours making news when people masturbating in the workspaces has become common knowledge?

Work From Home - it has always been a concept that the majority of management has been vehemently against. From “there’s no accountability” to “How do we know you actually work” for the longest time, most people have been against the concept. By 2020, the world will have to accept the Work From Home Model grudgingly and ever since things have gone back to “normal” or, as they say, “New Normal”, more and more people are looking to find ways to bring people back to the office. This is the reason that the newest survey has created such chatter online. The survey, which was carried out by travel points-savvy advice site Upgraded Points, which spoke to 1000 remote workers in the US, has received mixed reactions from social media.

On the other hand, the Time Out survey, where 39% of people confirmed to have masturbated at work, was conducted across social media back in 2015. However, the numbers were clearly already on the rise. The previous report on masturbating at work can be dated back to 2012 when it was reported that 31% of men admitted to doing the deed at their workplace. It is interesting to note that in the 2015 survey as well as the recent survey, it is not just men who masturbate at work or during working hours. The 2015 survey confirmed that men and women, gay or straight, are all willing to admit they've indulged in some self-love in their workplace washroom stall for various reasons.

And while the reasons may vary, according to research, this might actually be a good thing. Researchers at the University of Michigan say masturbating on a regular basis boosts endorphins and hormones, which lowers cortisol (a stress hormone) in the body. Many have therefore argued that safe and consensual masturbating at the workplace, which does not interfere with anyone else, can not only be a good stress buster for the employee but also benefit the employer. Since sex has similar effects on the body, the survey results and its reactions are being questioned by many people online.

At the end of the day, the only question that needs to be of utmost importance is if the employee got their work done. And if that is not being hampered, then how the complete clock hours are being used should not cause as rampant arguments on the internet. After all, whether you choose to spend extra work hours scrolling through social media, stepping down for a tea/coffee break or even taking a power nap - the time spent on non-work commitments is the same for both remote working and work from the office!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 16, 2023 07:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).