A recent survey by Sleep Doctor examined the work habits of 807 remote and hybrid employees to determine how often they resort to “bed rotting.” With this trend, employees tend to remain in bed for extended periods as they conduct passive activities other than sleep.
In all, 62 percent of employees revealed bed rotting during their work hours, with 55 percent of remote and hybrid workers report remaining in bed at least weekly during the work week and four out of 10 spending 3+ hours sprawled out in bed. Ironically, about 50 percent report that the practice improves work performance while others cite positive impacts on sleep and mental health.
Approximately 39 percent note being influenced by others or by social media, with men (44 percent) twice as likely to bet rot than women (20 percent). Those aged 25-34 (47 percent) were most likely, followed by 35-44 (46 percent), 18-24 (18 percent), 45-54 (18 percent) and over 54 (six percent).
Of those surveyed, eight percent bed rot five days a week, while 12 percent do four days a week and 26 percent three days. On an average day, most common amounts of time spent in bed were 1-2 hours (36 percent), less than an hour (25 percent), 3-4 hours (25 percent) and five or more hours (14 percent).
“Hanging out in bed for extended periods of time is not a great idea,” said Michael Breus, clinical psychologist and sleep medicine expert with Sleep Doctor. “When people are lying in bed for extended periods of time, their brain doesn’t know if it should be awake or sleeping. So, as a general guideline, and there’s plenty of data to back this up, you really want to only be in bed when you’re getting your seven to nine hours of sleep.”
Of those surveyed:
- Nearly 25 percent do video calls from bed.
- 75 percent of bed rotters report at least partially engaging in non-work activity.
- Common work-related tasks conducted from bed include:
- Answering emails (78 percent)
- Reviewing documents (71 percent)
- Working on projects (66 percent)
- Taking phone calls (62 percent)
- Participating in meetings with camera on (36 percent)
- Reporting (36 percent)
- Taking meetings with camera off (34 percent)
On average, 90 percent of bed rotters report being extremely (44 percent) or very (46 percent) productive (46%). However, while they are bed rotting only 58 percent say they are extremely or very productive. Fifty-four percent say bed rotting allows them to perform better overall, while 16 percent say it causes them to do a worse job and 29 percent indicate it doesn’t have an impact.
While just 24 percent noted that their employer was aware of this behavior, common consequences have included:
- Having to more frequently check in (62 percent)
- Changes to workload (56 percent)
- Formal sitdown with manager (49 percent)
- Suspension (24 percent)
- Firing (17 percent)
The survey was completed March 2024, and 807 full-time remote and hybrid employees surveyed. In all, 500 respondents indicated engaging in “bed rotting” and completed the full survey.
