Does Working From Home Make You Lazy?

As much as I personally love working from home, there are still some challenges that creep up. 

And one of those challenges is where you feel lazy or completely unmotivated. This happens in the office too, but I find sometimes it can happen more often when working remotely. 

Why is that? And are most people that work from home lazy? How do you help prevent those unmotivated days when working from home? Let’s dive in. 

Are People That Work From Home Lazy?

Generally people that work from home are not lazy. For many, working from home offers flexibility and work-life balance that leads to an increase in productivity. But for others, sometimes the lack of office structure can reduce motivation and productivity.

Often, saying people who work from home are lazy is a common stereotype.

That remote employees are working from their beds, staying in pajamas, and watching television over getting their work done,

But the majority of data and research out there generally shows that remote employees are actually more productive, happier, and have a better work life balance.

Here’s two quick data examples:

• A study by Stanford of 16,000 workers over 9 months found that working from home increased productivity by 13%.
• 77% of those who work remotely at least a few times per month show increased productivity, with 30% doing more work in less time and 24% doing more work in the same period of time according to a survey by ConnectSolutions.

And you’ll find plenty of more statistics online around remote productivity and more. In fact, I even put a collection together of work from home productivity stats.

Look, there certainly are people who can and will fall into this laziness category. Not everyone is consistently productive working from home or finds it’s good for them career wise.

But being lazy, unmotivated, and distracted happens in the office too. So the executive excuse of why employees must return to the office because they are completely unproductive doesn’t hold much value.

Typically, these are the comments made by founders and CEOs of larger organizations, like Disney, Morgan Stanely, etc.

And you’ve certainly seen the media headlines over the last few years where more say some outlandish reasons to end remote work.

But don’t worry, remote work is here to stay!

Why You May Feel Lazy Working From Home

That all said, even those most productive remote employees will have days where they may feel lazy when working from home.

I’ve certainly experienced this where I just don’t feel energized and stare blankly at my screen. It happens to everyone at some point in their remote career.

And it’s also a common question people ask online. I discovered a few threads and conversations on channels like Reddit and Quora asking about this exact topic.

But what causes laziness when working from home? It can be a few things or even a combo of these that ends up attacking your motivation.

Here are a few:

• You haven’t left your house in days.
• You’re burnt out by work and other things in your life.
• You’re trying to work in an area of your home with too many distractions.
• Not separating your work from your home life.
• You are not getting enough sleep and/or exercise.
• Not finding time to socialize with others.

How to Overcome Laziness Working From Home

There are various things in life that can affect our moods and work performance when working from home. But based on the general causes and some of my own experiences, I began implementing some changes.

I noticed when I applied some changes, that I had less days where I felt lazy, unmotivated, lethargic, or finding it difficult to concentrate.

There is no perfect solution, you’ll still occasionally have a day where you feel off. It’s normal and will happen if you work in an office too.

But here are some ways to prevent or overcome laziness when working from home. You’ll also notice your quality of work and energy improve too.

1. Create a consistent morning routine before you start work.

2. Get dressed in comfortable clothes, don’t work in what you slept in.

3. Keep your work separate from other areas of your house or apartment.

4. Set consistent breaks away from your computer.

5. Work on smaller tasks first instead of taking on a larger project.

6. Remove distractions from your work computer and internet browsers.

7. Schedule an exercise break or time to go for a walk.

8. Listen to music or podcasts that help your mood and mind.

9. Work for a bit outside of your home or apartment. Coffee shop, co-working space, a park, etc.

10. Make time to eat breakfast and lunch, take snack breaks as needed.

11. Drink a lot of water and stay hydrated. 

12. Break your work day up more, if your employer is cool with it.

13. Consider working in cycles to break away from procrastination. See pomodoro technique.

14. Create your goals and tasks for the week and reward yourself when you meet them.

15. Make time to socialize during work hours virtually with co-workers.