New study shows 18% productivity decline by those working from home

[loki1944]

File this study under the "No Sh*t Sherlock" category.

 

[waclark]

I don't care what anyone says most jobs are meant to be done away from home & meant to be done form the job site of the company you work for. Sure, there may be a few jobs you can do from home, but it is human nature for most people always wanting to stick it to the man or do as little as possible and still get paid for it.

My own job is manager at a carwash & Liquor store. So, I have to be there. Before Covid I used to have my own computer store with full repair shop as well. When they locked us down it also killed my 15-year-old computer business that I built with lots of hard work. I am only stating what the effects of Covid had on myself and family. Before someone says well you chose your current job so live with it and the choices.

After the promotion I actually make pretty decent money again, but I do miss being my own boss. I do not miss the stress though lol.

In my opinion most people saying they can be just as productive are either kidding themselves or outright lying.

I don't know if I agree with "most". Clearly, some jobs here in the US require you to physically be there. Others don't.

I do agree that some jobs that can mostly be done remotely, do require a certain amount of "office" time. Does that need to be 3-5 days a week? Depends on the job and maybe the team. For me, WFH is a benefit, not a right. If your job requires you to be in the office, well, I don't see how you can refuse. But, I'm not lying or delusional when I say I am just as productive at home as going to the office, maybe more so at home.

 

[RudyBob]

It's higher than 18%

 

[adamada72]

18% productivity decline. Ha! That's nothing, I have yet to work at a company where managment doesn't suck up at least that much or more. At my current employer managment probably wastes 30-40% of my productivity and that's about normal from my experiance. Foolish meetings, mandatory fun time, bad ideas, projects that are not "really" thought out, etc.. Number of times I've worked freelance where I'm not part of the "company culture", every time I get way more done than I normally would as an employee or the other employees. Just wild. Even today my boss is out for the week so our normal full team weekly stand up meeting was about 60% shorter in time and nothing was missed. What was different, I wounder?

 

[Q Wales]

Brought to you courtesy of all property magnates and shopping centres around the world who are currently sh1..ng themselves

 

[whateversa]

This study is trash. I not only perform better from home, I am able to do more challenging/specialized things because I am not surrounded by so much office noise and surrounded by 3 conversations at all times. Quality of work is also higher as I am not constantly interrupted by office distractions.

 

[mistyrain]

Oh come on. A study .... I know how studies work. Tell us what the outcome is needed so we can have it since you pay for it. Also, do the same study in different areas, age, company or whatever and you will have different results. Just skip articles where the word study is present.

 

[bobc4012]

I'm retired now. I worked in IT enterprise support. We started working from home as a cost saving measure (less office space $$$). I found myself working more than the normal 8 hours that I would have when in the office.
I might be working a problem and would wake up with a thought and would go to the PC in the middle of the night. I would say it depends on the job as to whether you are more or less productive at home. If you have small kids around, you have to find a way to isolate yourself during the work hours.

I agree that it depends on the job and also the type of person. I worked in S/W Development for many years and while there may have been a few hours a week where I could have easily done that portion of my job at home, most of it required collaboration with a dept. of people. It was much easier to collaborate going to the other person's office, having an impromptu "group" meeting with those involved with the specific topic, use of the white board to express ideas, etc. While some of it could have been done via messaging, ZOOM-like discussions, it would not be as efficient and could even be more time consuming than doing it in person. I can see where WFH can be easily done if no, or very minimal, collaboration is needed and no deadlines to meet and its basically a one person job.

Something else to keep in mind. If the job can be easily done at home, there is a (future) possibility that it can be done by AI as advances are made..

 

[MasterMace]

Time to ship those remote jobs back

 

[PEnnn]

Wow ya dont say.... This is common sense that on average people are less productive at home than at work. Some may be better at home but thats definitely not the norm.

Just because you like to goof off on company time, doesn't mean everybody else is doing the same...

 

[PEnnn]

The pathetic, 3- Martinis- for - lunch overlord dinosaurs still think that everybody sitting in a sardine can cubicle is working really hard.

Shout out to many cubicle colleagues who used to nap all afternoon because of all the heavy chicken parmigiano lunches they had for lunch!!

 

[waclark]

This study is trash. I not only perform better from home, I am able to do more challenging/specialized things because I am not surrounded by so much office noise and surrounded by 3 conversations at all times. Quality of work is also higher as I am not constantly interrupted by office distractions.

And you represent the majority of workers, good to know. The fact is many people are less productive at home. I work from home and get distracted more than I would like. It's usually someone knocking on the door, or the guy with the leaf blower outside my window, or some other distraction I wouldn't have in an office. Do I want to go back to the office? Nope, not at all but I do recognize the pros and cons of WFH. The biggest gain for me is not having to deal with driving to and from the office. That gives me extra time to get work done or take care of things I need to do at home. I think that is one way people are misguided about home productivity. You feel more productive because you're getting all those little personal tasks done that you can't get done while working in an office, so you feel overall that you're more productive. But, are you really more productive for your company? Only you (and your boss) can answer that question.

 

[PEnnn]

...The fact is many people are less productive at home

LOL!!! Pure projection. There is a very apt Chinese proverb: "A thief thinks everybody else is also a thief."

Wake me up when you have "real' facts.

 

[waclark]

LOL!!! Pure projection. There is a very apt Chinese proverb: "A thief thinks everybody else is also a thief."

Wake me up when you have "real' facts.

This article for one. Or maybe 5 quarters of productivity decline (first time on record). But if that's not enough for you, maybe this article will help you see the light.

 

[brucek]

Data-entry workers?!? Could they pick a less relevant job role?

 

[m3tavision]

LOL!!! Pure projection. There is a very apt Chinese proverb: "A thief thinks everybody else is also a thief."

Wake me up when you have "real' facts.

Wake us up when u are done explaining why you don't like a boss, or being attended too...

People can say whatever they want, but their actions (here) speak volumes of the truth. It's easier to stay home... easier on you doesn't mean more productive for the company, if you were being supervised for 8-12h a day while at work... next to other professionals.

I would be more productive at home, because my fridge, my shower, my lawn and my animals are there... but that is my productivity, for myself that would be greater. <--- & I like that..

More productive for my employer...?
WHo cares, he's paying me to be a leisure-clown... with no way of telling how much time I am spending on work related projects. Paid to work half as much... don't even have to take a shower = win.

 

[salemtherat]

Presumably the people left in the offices are working 18% harder?