Adequacy of telework spaces in homes during the lockdown in Madrid, according to socioeconomic factors and home features

Abstract

In Spain, the COVID-19 confinement was carried out in the spring of 2020. All non-essential activities were temporarily suspended. This brought with it the adaptation to home office (telework), still emerging in Europe, and more in Spain. Although the response in general has been positive, the conditions to which families have been subjected to telework cannot be considered normal. In this context, an online survey was requested to find out the experience of confined households in relation to the dwelling adaptation and satisfaction following the new needs in lockdown. The data obtained on workspace perception and its adequacy were studied in Madrid, stratified by gender and average income, for a sample of 256 households with people teleworking or studying. The results showed that the adequacy of telework spaces were insufficient for a third of the households, with no significant relationship with most of socioeconomic variables, nor with home characteristics. The variables related to this inadequacy of the spaces were: the number of people who work or study at home; the lack of exclusive spaces for teleworking; and the availability of digital resources. This perception also depended on the qualities of the teleworking space, as size, furniture and lighting, among others.