DUBAI — Forbes Middle East has conducted a regional survey to see how people are feeling about working from home, focusing on daily habits, productivity, challenges, and employer support. Some of the results were surprising. Key findings • Productivity either stays the same or improves from home 76.3% of respondents work as well or better at home, with 42% saying that they are just as productive working at home as they are in the office. • More people meditate first thing in the morning than go on social media Just 17.4% of people start their day by reading the news. Less surprisingly, 29% start their day with a coffee, and 22.8 % start off reading their emails. More than 9.3% meditate first thing in the morning. Only 7.7% access social media immediately after waking up. • Bad Internet connection and environment are a barrier More than 23% said distractions were their biggest challenge. An unstable internet connection was a problem for 18.9 %. Only 17% found communication to be a problem. • People are taking the lockdown seriously — most go out no more than once a week People are taking the lockdown seriously. About 38.3% of respondents go out just once a week, and 26.8% go out less than that. • Most people try to keep the same routine, but have made a few changes 57.4% have tried to keep the same routine, but a few things have changed. Who answered the survey? • 65% of respondents were male. • 34% of respondents were aged 36-45, and 27% were aged 26- 35. • 4% were aged below 25, and 3% were over 65. • 9% of respondents were CEOs • A third of the respondents were managers or higher. — SG