Much as I hate to admit it, these days I find it hard to go without my tech, whether that’s my phone or my laptop. As my kids grow up, their use of technology is increasing too, with tablets and on-demand TV being part of daily family life (which, btw, is absolutely fine with me)
And don’t even get me started on what happens when the internet goes down…. The lovely people at Hoppy have conducted a survey into what stresses homeowners out the most, and it appears I’m not alone:
Home used to be the place where you could put up your feet and relax at the end of a long working day, leaving the troubles and stresses of your job behind. In modern times, however, people are leaving the office and ending the day even more stressed than they started! Does this sound like you? Homes are no longer the sanctuary they once were and the reasons behind this may be surprising.
A Happy Home study conducted by Hoppy and YouGov found that chores are one of the main reasons for this stress, and to more than 40% of workers running a home feels like a second, unpaid and stress-filled, job. Moreover, 75% of those surveyed said they were unhappy with their home environment.
By digging a little further, it was uncovered that there were things that kept people up at night, including the house being untidy (36%), lack of storage space (30%), affording the bills (22%), and needing to update elements of the home such as the fixtures and fittings (22%). Clearly, these anxieties are more than just fleeting negative feelings and are really affecting the wellbeing of modern workers.
Luckily, improving the comfort and efficiency of your home, even some small aspects of it, can do a lot to boost the quality of daily life. We’re so used to utilising tech in various parts of our lives, but the home still remains comparatively ‘stupid’ (opposite of all those ‘smart’ devices we frequently use) and it might just be the time to change that. Considering that technology such as smartphones, tablets and computers, can be the very thing causing stress and anxiety at work, maybe it’s time to put them to better use by utilising them at home.
For instance, you can bring some smart technology into your house, which can improve the comfort and quality of your everyday life. Today’s smart technology encapsulates everything from security systems, lighting, thermostats, sprinkler systems, video surveillance and entertainment devices – all connected through the internet. Depending on the needs of your home, this type of technology can save you time and money, reducing stress and anxiety when you get home from a long day at work.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the stresses already discussed, slow broadband contributes greatly to how we feel about the home. There’s no point in arguing that internet doesn’t underpin much of our leisure time. Most of us will spend our evenings gaming, browsing, or watching videos; internet speeds need to be up to scratch to support all this activity, especially as families will often have multiple devices on the go at the same time. To find out which internet speed is most suitable for your home, and reduce annoying buffering times, check out this informative video by Hoppy, that’s bound to surprise with a few internet facts. Maybe the key to happiness at home is just fast broadband.
Living in our modern society comes with a lot of stresses and the fact that it has started to infiltrate our homes isn’t surprising. This modern problem, however, can be solved with modern tools. Tech is here to help and if used smartly is can go a long way in making us less anxious and stressed, reclaiming the home as a site of rest and relaxation.