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

[Bakero]

If your manager can’t manage remotely and make sure that stuff is getting done then they’re a shite manager, doesn’t matter whether they’re in a different office or at home

Exactly. Who cares if people are starting late and finishing early as long as they are getting the job done to a good standard? A lot of people spend most of the day doing feck all when they're in the office anyway.

 

[Birdie Boy]

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...

 

[ConfusedGloryHunter]

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.

 

[Pevenseagull]

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.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

After

After I got my PC diagnosis, had me op & sick time off.
It was agreed with my boss I could WFH for 6 months.
I my work and some, I normally would've done on shift.
I got the feeling I was doing more than the ***** who were at work.
An example would be myself being emailed to do a certain task on the MOD laptop I had through the MOD intranet.
I did ths work requested & logged it.

As I was getting a full wage through my sickness cover, certain new colleagues started to question my boss, why I was at home working and earning the same wage.
Cut a long story short, my spineless boss started to push me into going back to work on shift, I subsequently pushed back with great advice and support from Macmillan.
Didn't hear another thing off him!

Well done mate. Competitive work 'colleagues' can be such troublesome wankas. Top thwarting

 

[stewart12]

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

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

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.

 

[Pevenseagull]

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.

True story...

They offered me an alternative, office based role, in Wigan.

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

On the contrary, I get more done at home rather than when I go in to work, as I’m more accessible.

 

[Frutos]

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.

 

[zefarelly]

I tried testing a race car in the dining room once.

THere was no starter.

 

[Bodian]

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.

 

[Bodian]

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.

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]

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.

 

[Frutos]

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 enquiry.

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]

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.

 

[Superphil]

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]

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

 

[Anger]

Not me. I am on top of my shit and when I dodge a 3.5 h commute I get to work 3.5 h extra. With better quality coffee and ambient music. What's not to like?

Of course, there are plenty of skivers. I think that Darwin's notions will help ensure good workers float to the top, in the long run, wherever their desk is located.

Provided management is awake.

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.

 

[mr sheen]

Not for me. I work longer hours. Need the f2f regularly though, energises me, enables connection building etc. If I was earlier in my career, the home working would be horrendous, but I am in a place where it works for me, clients and my employer