[Misc] Does WFH (working from home) reduce productivity?

hans kraay fan club said:

Personally, I'm MUCH more productive in the office. Partly that is because I don't have a suitable space at home (For a brief period of lockdown I was WFH, sat in a corner of the lounge, with family in and out, and I got nothing done), but partly because I'm easily distracted.

If I had any kind of a significant commute, then I'm sure my personal opinion would be different - as I'd hate that time wasted every day.

But I live so close to my office, that my commute takes 15 minutes door to door, INCLUDING stopping at Waitrose for my free coffee...

It also means that I go home every lunch hour, to see my wife, sit in the garden, or watch a few minutes of SSN while I eat my lunch.

So for me at least, office is better.

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Mustafa II said:

I feel absolutely certain it does. People seem to try to get away with as much as they can, as a result producing inferior work and missing deadlines.

It's a nice idea as it allows people to save time and money, as well as businesses on office spaces - but in reality, people are usually going to prioritise their private lives over work wherever possible, by doing as little as possible when unwatched.

Thoughts?

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rippleman said:

Anybody who has to deal with any government departments will know the answer to the question is YES!

I deal with HMRC on a daily basis and their service levels have been appalling since they allowed staff to continue working from home following the pandemic. They rarely answer the telephone (and when they do, rarely can you get the help required), take months to respond to routine letters (written because nobody services the telephones) and the complaints teams are now swamped because taxpayers and their agents can't obtain resolution by telephone or letter.

But lets not stop incredibly poor service stop slippery Sunak bunging HMRC's CEO a knighthood eh?

And we all know what a shambles the Home Office is in due to their failure to process asylum claims on a timely basis.

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Beanstalk said:

"Several studies over the past few years 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 and work one more day a week. These same remote workers are up to 47% more productive than office workers according to a Stanford study."

At least anecdotally, I find the days I work from the office a complete write off when it comes to actually getting work done. Might have a solid meeting here or there but it's hard to imagine how we got anything done when we were in the office five days a week - so many disruptions and distractions caused by other people.

It all depends where you work and what industry, I guess. In my line of work, there aren't really any benefits to being in the office and people are almost universally self-managing and motivated. All I would say in regards to the OP is that the second you start to think your employees need to be watched to make sure that they're doing the work then you have a major problem - you've either hired the wrong person for the job, or you're a poor manager who probably needs to put more trust in your employees. If I missed my deadlines and produced inferior work from home or in office, I'd see consequences for it regardless of where I was based.

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American Seagle said:

I don't understand how people can argue and have opinions on this. Collect the data and compare WFH vs in the office and use that.

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dazzer6666 said:

Because everyone is different. The answer to the thread title may be yes or no depending on that data (if the data was reliable, which it won’t be because so much would be subjective) but people are answering for themselves, not a generalisation

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American Seagle said:

If the data is subjective you are taking the wrong data.

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Chicken Run said:

I think your in a minority there, it seems WFH is an excuse to do at least two more car journeys per day than most would have done pre covid

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zefarelly said:

Most people do proper/real work at remote and/or variable locations . . . Yes yes, I know, it doesn't make a shit ton of money, but you'd all be crying in a corner without your oat milk cappafrappachino in pissy pants if people didn't do it . . . . . . So It's a stupid question Really.

Or, if it's not a stupid question, then the prefix should be 'are you a slack arsed soft fingered office worker'.

HAving spent 10-12 years working for myself, at home mostly, and all over the place regularly, going back to office life is a holiday camp!

I could do most of it from home, but would need to be there some of the time . . .

The BIG issue and one that's only really come into focus since covid, is that we can work remotely, and people have realised how much time and money is wasted commuting. . . . I really don't understand why people do it. . . . . Up to 5 miles or 30 minutes maybe, but its still a waste. And mostly unnecessary.

I think thats irked everyone I can think of . . . . runs with tin hat!

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Mustafa II said:

I feel absolutely certain it does. People seem to try to get away with as much as they can, as a result producing inferior work and missing deadlines.

It's a nice idea as it allows people to save time and money, as well as businesses on office spaces - but in reality, people are usually going to prioritise their private lives over work wherever possible, by doing as little as possible when unwatched.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

rippleman said:

And we all know what a shambles the Home Office is in due to their failure to process asylum claims on a timely basis.

Click to expand...

rippleman said:

Anybody who has to deal with any government departments will know the answer to the question is YES!

I deal with HMRC on a daily basis and their service levels have been appalling since they allowed staff to continue working from home following the pandemic. They rarely answer the telephone (and when they do, rarely can you get the help required), take months to respond to routine letters (written because nobody services the telephones) and the complaints teams are now swamped because taxpayers and their agents can't obtain resolution by telephone or letter.

But lets not stop incredibly poor service stop slippery Sunak bunging HMRC's CEO a knighthood eh?

And we all know what a shambles the Home Office is in due to their failure to process asylum claims on a timely basis.

Click to expand...

hans kraay fan club said:

Personally, I'm MUCH more productive in the office. Partly that is because I don't have a suitable space at home (For a brief period of lockdown I was WFH, sat in a corner of the lounge, with family in and out, and I got nothing done), but partly because I'm easily distracted.

...

So for me at least, office is better.

Click to expand...

Mustafa II said:

I feel absolutely certain it does. People seem to try to get away with as much as they can, as a result producing inferior work and missing deadlines.

It's a nice idea as it allows people to save time and money, as well as businesses on office spaces - but in reality, people are usually going to prioritise their private lives over work wherever possible, by doing as little as possible when unwatched.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...

Mustafa II said:

... but in reality, people are usually going to prioritise their private lives over work wherever possible, by doing as little as possible when unwatched.

Thoughts?

Click to expand...