Increased Work Productivity for Those Who Work From Home?

In a recent article published by the Hartford Courant, statistics which show that most people who work from home are actually significantly more productive than those who have to work from an office. Some of the reasons for this increased productivity included the following [source]:

• Saving commuting time
• Able to fit work around other commitments
• Better able to concentrate
• Fewer interruptions
• Less stressed

Now, I don’t know about you- but having worked in an office environment I would have to absolutely agree with all of these reasons. Of course, it also helps if you have a separate room or workspace to work in when you are home (working from your kitchen table is not nearly as comfortable!).

The only down side to working from home is that it is easy to slip into a pattern of working too much and/or not taking a break when you really should. Then, of course, what happens if you are sick or feeling under the weather? It’s not like you can call into your office and tell your boss that you’re not going to be in that day. In most cases, those of us who work from home just suck it up and keep on trudging along. I guess you could say that this is the price we pay for comfort.

Should Office Employers Be Worried?

With the recent onslaught of people who are working from home with some sort of increased frequency, some employers are starting to become a little concerned. After all, how are they supposed to compete with employees who now have all of these options to lead the lives that they many others would kill for: the opportunity to set your own hours and work in your PJs without having to worry about makeup, rush hour traffic or the watchful stare of your boss? As Rebecca O’Connor from Times Online succinctly put it:

For millions of us, going to work means piling into monolithic tower blocks stuffed with rows of generic desks, strip lighting, muddy-looking carpets and off-white walls.

But not for all. Over the past decade, wireless broadband and BlackBerrys have meant that more workers have ditched the office in favour of working from home, in quiet studies overlooking gardens, with cups of tea and a comfy sofa only a room away.

And this has presented employers with a problem — how to cultivate a culture of presenteeism in a world where being present is not always essential. The answer? Commission interior designers to upgrade office space. The result? Unintentionally, perhaps, offices are beginning to look more like living rooms. [source]

In a day and age of WFHers, employers know exactly what they are up against. This is why many of them are now scrambling to renovate and redecorate with the hopes of making the office experience something that is akin to a ‘home away from home’, some place where employees feel excited and happy to go to….but will it be enough?