Working from Home?! GREAT! Working from Home because you are forced to, or risk getting sick from a global pandemic? Not so great. Not one wanted or expected this to happen, yet – alas, here we are.
The fight for the opportunity to work from home has been a constant battle. Employees want the choice and Flexibility to work at least part of the time from outside of their cubicles. However, companies and direct leadership has been leery to allow this. Citing only their opinion that it will cause lack of motivation and focus. Will this last? It’s going to be hard after months of working from home to go backwards.
There isn’t a single case study I’ve find that shows mandatory employee office attendance hurts productivity, satisfaction, or performance. There are quite a few studies that show sitting in their cubicle being forced to pretend to be busy when they need a break hurts all three items listed above! Including A 2019 survey by Airtasker, a 2-year Stanford study, and many others.
I doubt these results surprise anyone who includes wasted time of travel, petty office politics, constant interruptions, etc. However, it looks that most offices are still going to require employees to work from the office, why? HR in traditional office-requires businesses say it’s about trust, team-building, but offer no real substance or evidence to backup their claims.
Of course, the office “culture” is very important! And of course, that can only happen when you are in a building crammed in a sardine-can-of-a-cubicle. In my 30 years working, I can only remember the “office” environment as toxic and pandering.
Managers enjoy being able to manage all aspects of their employees including time and place. Giving them the freedom somehow undermines their authority, even though evidence shows this is false. Obviously for manufacturing, and scheduled important, restaurants, etc. are important to keep tight ships to allow for the jobs to be done correctly.
For companies who embrace these changes they’ll see huge rewards. When you prioritize performance over daily attendance in the office. Happier, more productive employees are the results. Less turnover, and meeting deadlines.
As always if you need help setting up remote from home securely for your office please reach out to us and we’ll assist.
