Working From Home is More Productive

As the Pandemic draws to its Economic conclusion and Businesses all around the World look towards a speedy recovery, we are left wondering on what the way forward is for the workforce.

On the one hand employees are comfortable and look forward to carrying in their roles remotely but on the other hand Big Business looks towards enforcing strict working policy.

The question is whats more productive - a formal in office 8 to 5 working structure or the remote work from home approach that helped Big Business survive the pandemic.

Several studies over the past few months show productivity while working remotely from home is better than working in an office setting. On average, those who work from home spend 10 minutes less a day being unproductive, work one more day a week, and are 47% more productive.

The South Africa Economy

In South Africa we are faced with steeply rising prices and in effective infrastructure that make simple things like the commute to work an added expense that adds higher levels on strain on employees, with the average Working Adult spending majority of there pay just on petrol or transportation to get to work.

Is the In-Office Work Approach then a logically step towards recovery in the context of our economy or is this more of a self sabotaging approach that leans more towards a consolidation of control that yields no real gains in productivity.

From Apollo Technical

Performance can increase up to 13 percent by working from home

A study by?Standford of 16,000 workers?over 9 months found that working from home increase productivity by?13%. This increase in performance was due to more calls per minute attributed to a quieter more convenient working environment and working more minutes per shift because of fewer breaks and sick days.

In this same study workers also reported improved work satisfaction, and attrition rates were cut by 50%.

Working Remotely Can Increase Productivity up to 77%

77%?of those who work remotely at least a few times per month show increased productivity, with?30%?doing more work in less time and?24%?doing more work in the same period of time according to a?survey by ConnectSolutions.

Before COVID-19

Letting employees work from home has been the fear of plenty of companies because they believe they will be less productive. This isn’t entirely wrong. At home, it’s easy to get distracted,?procrastinate, or put in less work than those working in the office.

In 2019, a?study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics?found that?24%?of people that were employed did some or all of their work at home on days they worked, and?82%?of people that were employed did some or all of their work at their workplace

The?same study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics also found that workers employed in financial operations, business, and management occupations?(37%)?and workers employed in professional and related occupations?(33%)?were more likely than those employed in other occupations to do some or all of their work from home on days they worked.??

A?study?conducted in 2012 shows those office workers who were assigned boring tasks performed better and faster in the regular office setting. Home-life distractions are more likely to prevent productive work when you don’t enjoy the work.

But this study found more productive results when the work was more creative. In short, the fewer restraints put on a task, the quicker it will be completed.

The same study also shows an entire “office” will underperform if they each work from home. Each individual will put in the same amount of work as the next. Meaning, no individual wants to put in more work and let the others ride their coattails.

Another more recent?study?states that the more hours an individual works from home, the less productive they become. Those who worked full time?(8 hours/day)?at home are?70%?less productive than those who don’t work from home.

After COVID-19

A bit has changed since 2012. Working from home has gotten easier and communication software is getting better.

Reports from surveys taken in the past couple of months show?working from home?is producing a better turnaround on projects, and increasing productivity.

Great Place to Work?compared employee productivity from March to August of 2020, the first six months of stay-at-home orders, to the same six-month stretch in 2019. Remote work productivity was?stable or increased?when working remotely from home, according to a 2-year study of 800,000 employees.

Prodoscore?reports?an increase in productivity by?47%?since March of 2020 (compared to March and April 2019), and have deciphered when people are the most productive.

The report states workers are the most productive on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday; and between 10:30am and 3:00pm. The average workday still reflects an 8:30am to 5:30pm schedule, and more workers are using emailing and?Customer Relationship Management?software to stay in contact with co-workers.

A?survey by Stanford?found that only?65%?of Americans had internet fast enough to handle video calls. With?42%?of Americans working from home and?26%?working at their employer’s physical location.

A?survey?from March this 2020 by Airtasker shows work from home employees spent less time avoiding work (15%?difference), spent 1.4 more days working each month, and took more breaks.

Workers in a home environment report they are less distracted by co-workers, spending 30 minutes less talking about non-work topics, and spend?7%?less time talking to management.

The?New York Times?interviewed Nathan Schultz, a senior executive at?Chegg, about productivity within the company now that the workforce is sheltered at home.

His first impulse was to constantly check in on employees, but once he backed off, the productivity went up, and employees started completing projects ahead of schedule.

Just because productivity is up, for now, doesn’t mean it will stay this way. The same NYT article reports some companies are seeing employees struggle with the lack of social interaction. The mental health of employees will start to hinder productivity over time decreasing employee satisfaction.

Companies like?Splunk,?Affirm, and?Microsoft?saw a large spike in productivity in the first couple of months of quarantine, but over time, the loneliness of working at a home office affects productivity and job satisfaction.

This is why many companies are now embracing a?hybrid work model.