Survey: Majority of employees handle personal tasks during work hours

Estonian job portal CV.ee surveyed a little over 1,000 people about how they use their working time. The results show that 76% of respondents handle personal matters during work hours.

Gertu Matikainen, CV.ee's marketing and communications specialist, explained that tasks like visiting a doctor, taking a child to kindergarten, or handling other unavoidable errands cannot always be pushed outside working hours. When an employee can arrange such obligations flexibly while still completing work tasks, this can be a reasonable alternative to strictly separating nine-to-five work from personal life.

Company culture matters

Nearly three-quarters of respondents use working time to visit a doctor or handle other health-related errands. Personal emails are also sent and time is spent on social media during work hours, according to Matikainen.

The survey found that people largely view this as situation-dependent: 51% of respondents believe that handling personal matters during the workday should depend on the specific situation and the company's culture. Matikainen noted that flexible work arrangements need clear boundaries so that personal errands don't interfere with completing work tasks. This flexibility can also mean employees handle work matters during their free time — slightly under half of respondents read work emails daily while on vacation.

For employers, flexible arrangements can be beneficial, allowing employees to better organize their lives and potentially reducing daily stress, such as letting them handle a doctor's visit or childcare matter without taking a full vacation day.

The most common personal tasks handled during work hours were: doctor visits or health-related errands (74%), sending or reading personal emails (66%), time on social media (41%), trip planning or bookings (28%), child-related errands (24%), grocery shopping (24%), household chores (22%), and online shopping (22%).