[Misc] Does WFH (working from home) reduce productivity?
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Birdie Boy
Well-known member
- Jun 17, 2011
- 4,352
I think it depends on your particular job. I'm in IT, so 90% of my work can be done from home. My work is always done on time and I'm always available. If I sit down and watch a film or something, I'm still online and available, I don't go down the pub and not be contactable online. If your work is done and the boss is happy, sorted. Everyone's happy especially if your saving commuting time, money and the environment...
- Jul 6, 2011
- 2,395
I'm in the office 3 days a week and get more work done on the 2 days I'm at home. But that is just me, it very much depends on the nature of your work and the individual doing it.
Lazy workers can still achieve very little even if you force them into an office every day. Slackers were not invented in 2020.
Lazy workers can still achieve very little even if you force them into an office every day. Slackers were not invented in 2020.
Pevenseagull
meh
- Jul 20, 2003
- 20,645
In a job I had pre lockdown I was WFH.
I was 40% more productive than the office based staff.
I got asked to come into to the office to discuss how my productivity was so high.
When I turned up they were playing darts.
I was 40% more productive than the office based staff.
I got asked to come into to the office to discuss how my productivity was so high.
When I turned up they were playing darts.
Well done mate. Competitive work 'colleagues' can be such troublesome wankas. Top thwarting
stewart12
Well-known member
- Jan 16, 2019
- 1,909
It ultimately depends on the role and the worker
I am hybrid and work better at home. The problem with our team is that hardly any of the managers spend any time in the office, which sets a terrible example if they're trying to get people back into the office in my opinion.
One thing that hybrid working has spawned that does contribute to many wasted hours is the f***ing unnecessary "teams meeting"/ "zoom call" which could be a 5 minute in person conversation or even better, an email
I am hybrid and work better at home. The problem with our team is that hardly any of the managers spend any time in the office, which sets a terrible example if they're trying to get people back into the office in my opinion.
One thing that hybrid working has spawned that does contribute to many wasted hours is the f***ing unnecessary "teams meeting"/ "zoom call" which could be a 5 minute in person conversation or even better, an email
thedonkeycentrehalf
Moved back to wear the gloves (again)
- Jul 7, 2003
- 9,322
I’m hybrid but the WFH days give me flexibility around certain domestic things but likewise, I sometimes have early or late meetings with colleagues across the world so there is both give and take but also trust.
On office days, I am probably slightly less productive but the interactions with colleagues generally has a longer term benefit from a business understanding and also in building and maintaining relationships.
I have seen plenty of people who can work in an office and find many ways to be unproductive so it is more the individual than the environment.
On office days, I am probably slightly less productive but the interactions with colleagues generally has a longer term benefit from a business understanding and also in building and maintaining relationships.
I have seen plenty of people who can work in an office and find many ways to be unproductive so it is more the individual than the environment.
Pevenseagull
meh
- Jul 20, 2003
- 20,645
On the contrary, I get more done at home rather than when I go in to work, as I’m more accessible.
Not for me, in fact the opposite.
My work is quite detail based and requires evidence analysis when preparing for hearings - I find that much easier, and am therefore more productive, in my quiet house than in a bustling office.
My work is quite detail based and requires evidence analysis when preparing for hearings - I find that much easier, and am therefore more productive, in my quiet house than in a bustling office.
I tried testing a race car in the dining room once.
THere was no starter.
THere was no starter.
I work 50/60% at home and 40/50% in the office. I get far more done at home in the way of getting through stuff, producing reports, and so on. But I get far more interactions, picking up on stuff before it becomes an issue, giving and receiving advice and so on at the office. It's the balance between the two that works - I don't think I could do just one or the other now.
Public hearings? I find the same - producing statements of case and so on is far far easier at home, especially if you can turn the phone and emails off. I used to have to get special permission to take a day or two at home in the run up to an Inquiry.
FatSuperman
Well-known member
- Feb 25, 2016
- 2,916
Demonstrably shit for productivity: email, instant message, endless meetings, open plan offices
Absolutely no evidence it damages productivity: hybrid / flexible working
It all boils down to 'management' saying "well if the workers like this working from home thing, if it makes them happy then there must be something wrong with it. They must be up to no good if they like it. Let's put a stop to it immediately." It's utterly lazy management, and return to office mandates are just trappings of power bollocks. Corner offices and seeing your minions at their desks. Nobody cares what they are doing, just that they are there.
We pay people to deliver, not to sit in a specific location.
Absolutely no evidence it damages productivity: hybrid / flexible working
It all boils down to 'management' saying "well if the workers like this working from home thing, if it makes them happy then there must be something wrong with it. They must be up to no good if they like it. Let's put a stop to it immediately." It's utterly lazy management, and return to office mandates are just trappings of power bollocks. Corner offices and seeing your minions at their desks. Nobody cares what they are doing, just that they are there.
We pay people to deliver, not to sit in a specific location.
Tribunal hearings - technically open to the public, but in practice all those who turn up have an involvement of some kind.
Preparation is definitely easier at home, for me at least.
Justice
Dangerous Idiot
Many of us self employed have been WFH for years if we don’t get the work done there is simply no pay check. When I work in offices I wonder how companies survive with all the slacking I see going on. One company in London had a private chef knocking up lunch a quiet room with huge floor cushions for the poor souls if the stress got to much and people seemingly doing f all apart from bombing around on electric scooters.
Don’t get me wrong it looked like fun working there the big brands like Coca Cola were obviously paying them far too much in advertising fees.
Don’t get me wrong it looked like fun working there the big brands like Coca Cola were obviously paying them far too much in advertising fees.
Superphil
Dismember
100% not for me. Since I started working from home around 2005 I’ve consistently been more productive and more successful in my work. I still go to the office but feel I get more done in the hours available working from home.
EliasTaproot
Active member
- Oct 31, 2022
- 70
Full time WFH since COVID and my productivity, mental health and lifestyle has improved tenfold. I absolutely despise when people who can't WFH full time productively then proclaim nobody else can because they can't, it's so obnoxious.
There is absolutely no reason why I should be in an office when I can excel from home, no reason at all. Company parties, quarterly get togethers? Count me in! Traipsing into work 3 times a week? Absolutely not, I will do everything in my power to never have an in office job again
There is absolutely no reason why I should be in an office when I can excel from home, no reason at all. Company parties, quarterly get togethers? Count me in! Traipsing into work 3 times a week? Absolutely not, I will do everything in my power to never have an in office job again
Anger
Well-known member
- Jul 21, 2017
- 514
100% this. I am much more productive at home than I am in the office.
Why is that? It’s because I‘m not a skiver, I know my job inside out and I make sure I get the work done as efficiently as possible. When I’m at home I can do that, but when I’m in the office I cannot do anywhere near as much as I can at home because I’m obliged to engage in office chat (much of which is inane) and also because colleagues keep asking me how they should be doing their jobs.
I also make a point of working no more than my statutory hours when I am in the office because I have 3 hours travel time to add on top. At home I am more flexible in working extra hours when needed.
I‘m acutely aware that the majority of my colleagues are not as responsible and that fuels the popular opinion (and of course the CEO / Board perception) that home working leads to skiving.
Such is life.
