New Research found Work from home workers to be less productive

[Silberman]

I know something about that since I have a little kid at home and my wife takes care of her. When I work from home they treat me like I'm still there to help.

I used to work downstairs but it was unbearable. For instance my wife would ask me things, talk to me, share thoughts, treat me like I was there watching TV, not working and focusing on my task. I moved upstairs, but it's still the same, just that she screams to me from downstairs asking me if I can come down because of whatever, like there's a spider, or the cart brought in a lizard, or a million other things of similar importance.

Without a doubt that can be hard and it makes sense that you may feel you are more productive at the office as you would have way less distractions, however there are arguments on favor for working from home as well, as not only you can avoid commuting from and to your job, save on clothes, gasoline and food, but if you like your job and you are good at it you could even finish it in just a fraction of the time, and use the rest of your time in something you may like more.

[1714631968]

1714631968

[dothebeats]

I know something about that since I have a little kid at home and my wife takes care of her. When I work from home they treat me like I'm still there to help.

I used to work downstairs but it was unbearable. For instance my wife would ask me things, talk to me, share thoughts, treat me like I was there watching TV, not working and focusing on my task. I moved upstairs, but it's still the same, just that she screams to me from downstairs asking me if I can come down because of whatever, like there's a spider, or the cart brought in a lizard, or a million other things of similar importance.

Without a doubt that can be hard and it makes sense that you may feel you are more productive at the office as you would have way less distractions, however there are arguments on favor for working from home as well, as not only you can avoid commuting from and to your job, save on clothes, gasoline and food, but if you like your job and you are good at it you could even finish it in just a fraction of the time, and use the rest of your time in something you may like more.

You are correct. The two work settings both have pros and cons, and those are also dependent on the worker. Some prefers working from home and some likes working on site. We cannot really judge it that easily as we all have different situations and work environment. It all comes down to personal preferences at the end of the day.

[KiaKia]

Not all those who work in a company are more productive anyway, we are now in a world where what you have to offer is what will bring food to your table, either you are working from home or not, you ain't getting paid if you don't do your work right, isn't this the case?

Some works can b done at home, I remember the COVID-19 days, some new projects in the crypto space continue to build and they host their meetings online, in the end everything still went smoothly for them.

I would say it depends, if you are lazy it means you will remain a lazy person even if you go to work every morning or you are working at home.

[CODE200]

I have also read multiple researches that tells that people are less productive when they work from home, but I'm still not convinced because these researches has still lapses. I have known a lot of people who are working remotely and people who are working in their offices. And I can tell that the working environment affects little to none of their productivity, because it still depends on the person. A lot of remote workers are working 16 hours a day, while people who are in the offices are only required at least 8 hours per day. But, can we really measure productivity? is it the time you spent during the work or is it the effort you put in that work? Afterall, I believe that productivity is subjective, it is how we see it.

It's not the case here in our country in fact our government encourages working from home because it will save time from commuting an average worker here in our country spend 3 to 5 hours of commuting because we have one of the worse traffic here in our country and by working from home the worker will be more productive because they can spend more quality works because they don't have to dress up and commute saving money and time.
Besides companies here have grading systems you need to be productive and efficient to stay on the job or be promoted so I could say it's a country-to-country situation or scenario.

I couldn't agree more. Traffic kills productivity. If you're spending at least 3-5 hours in traffic, then you become less productive in this sense. While people who work from their home can start their work without getting stuck in traffic and doesn't have to spend or waste their time in traffic.

[jostorres]

It's really depend on the job and how they get paid.

If he get paid per hour, day, month and after he completed his task, his boss or manager will give him more task, why he need to deliver his job as soon as possible if he can cheat or work slower?

If he's a freelancer and he get paid according to his task, he will his best to deliver his job as soon as possible to earn maximum money.

I'm okay if my boss will provide more work but as long as I will get another set of payments. I will still try to prioritize my health over money so I will not accept more task if I think it's already late at night. Task-based jobs seems to be a better fit for me, so that I can have more time for my self and I can choose freely if I will work or not as there are times that I'm feeling lazy.

I should only save first so that I will still have something to spend if I'm not in the mood of making money. There is no science on why working from home makes people less productive. That is because there are so many distractions around us but there are still measures that we can do to overcome it.

[Bananington]

These researchers found that if you work from home you will be less efficient and productive than people who from their office.

If you work from home, have a good space for your office setup, and try to maintain a disciplined schedule and mindset of the need to work. If you can condition yourself properly, you will be as productive as someone who is in a conditioned environment as the office setup to work. If you work from home, you will be at the danger of getting easily distracted, procrastinating work or lazying around. Those are things that have to be consciously avoided when you make the decision to work from home or have accepted the offer to work from home. Many of the people who made the research about efficiency go the way of the people who work from office are the people who have not been able to overcome the many distractions and challenges that come with working from home.

[Viscore]

It depends on the salary though.

I mean, I wouldn't give my 100% best in my work if I'm being underpaid with a lot of workload to do every single day. But if I'm being paid correctly based of my talent, for sure I'm always going to be productive whether I'm working in the office or at home. The other thing is that, introvert people are more productive when working at home rather than working in the office.

In short, it will depend on a certain person if he'll slack off in his work wherever it is.

Well, we all work to receive good compensation. But if we are not fully compensated, a lot would prefer to leave the job instead than to work still, and end up less productive. Not just in working from home, but also in working on site. However, on the part of introvert people, if they’ll stay more productive working from home, does that mean that they will be less productive if they are assigned at the office? For me, whether you’re introvert or extrovert, as long as you’re properly compensated, you should make your job impressive as well, right?

[Dave1]

It depends on the salary though.

I mean, I wouldn't give my 100% best in my work if I'm being underpaid with a lot of workload to do every single day. But if I'm being paid correctly based of my talent, for sure I'm always going to be productive whether I'm working in the office or at home. The other thing is that, introvert people are more productive when working at home rather than working in the office.

In short, it will depend on a certain person if he'll slack off in his work wherever it is.

Well, we all work to receive good compensation. But if we are not fully compensated, a lot would prefer to leave the job instead than to work still, and end up less productive. Not just in working from home, but also in working on site. However, on the part of introvert people, if they’ll stay more productive working from home, does that mean that they will be less productive if they are assigned at the office? For me, whether you’re introvert or extrovert, as long as you’re properly compensated, you should make your job impressive as well, right?

Yeah, look for other jobs instead of not being happy with the current pay. And I guess for the employers, if their WFH employees are submitting everything in a timely manner and everything looks good then there they are happy and so we can say that the employees are productive as well.

And not just in the pandemic, but even prior to that there are a lot of us here who have found WFH already. Even in the early 2000's WFH is a thing already, so if it is not productive then how come companies are allowing it before?

[Aanuoluwatofunmi]

Not all those who work in a company are more productive anyway, we are now in a world where what you have to offer is what will bring food to your table, either you are working from home or not, you ain't getting paid if you don't do your work right, isn't this the case?

Productivity is what we should be after and not what other people are saying about the work conditions irrespective of being a home or office location job, how effective can we deliver what is within our capacity and what is being expected of us, the capacity to how far we can deliver depends on our ability and personal interest, where we think we can perform best give the best quality delivery in our abilities, what you give in is what you receive back as reward to your labour in form of wages, location should not be a barrier.

[Cling18]

It depends on the salary though.

I mean, I wouldn't give my 100% best in my work if I'm being underpaid with a lot of workload to do every single day. But if I'm being paid correctly based of my talent, for sure I'm always going to be productive whether I'm working in the office or at home. The other thing is that, introvert people are more productive when working at home rather than working in the office.

In short, it will depend on a certain person if he'll slack off in his work wherever it is.

Well, we all work to receive good compensation. But if we are not fully compensated, a lot would prefer to leave the job instead than to work still, and end up less productive. Not just in working from home, but also in working on site. However, on the part of introvert people, if they’ll stay more productive working from home, does that mean that they will be less productive if they are assigned at the office? For me, whether you’re introvert or extrovert, as long as you’re properly compensated, you should make your job impressive as well, right?

Yeah, look for other jobs instead of not being happy with the current pay. And I guess for the employers, if their WFH employees are submitting everything in a timely manner and everything looks good then there they are happy and so we can say that the employees are productive as well.

And not just in the pandemic, but even prior to that there are a lot of us here who have found WFH already. Even in the early 2000's WFH is a thing already, so if it is not productive then how come companies are allowing it before?

I agree that it all depends on the salary and the impact of the company to their employees mental health. As for me, if a person is happy with the compensation and the working environment, he will be productive especially if he's enjoying his job but if the company is lowballing their employees, unproductiveness usually exist.
I have experienced this multiple times. As per my personal observation, it is really easier and lighter to perform our best to a company that values our effort and compensate us with what we deserve. If the company knows how to value their workers and how to give them importance, they will surely give back the best performance to keep the position.

[SatoPrincess]

A study published by the American private nonprofit research organization the National Bureau of Economic Research found that the productivity of workers randomly assigned to work from home was 18% lower than that of those in the office.
https://africa.businessinsider.com/careers/new-research-finds-that-fully-remote-workers-are-less-productive-than-their-in-office/4vxn4sy

These researchers found that if you work from home you will be less efficient and productive than people who from their office. Can we say the same about freelance workers?  Do you think that if workers are given the chance to "own" a task like freelancers they'll be more productive because it is just like being self-employed where you treat it as your business and not with the mindset of another man's business?

I disagree with the publication, I think it depends on the type of job and how the company pay salaries. If salaries are performance based then surely it wouldn’t matter if the workers come in to the office or work remotely, they would give 100% to their job because they know their paycheck depends on their productivity. There are two sides to the coin; there are people who need to be in that work space or atmosphere to be able to perform, but working from home eliminates the toxic work environment problem that workers complain about.

and mostly this is in remote jobs to be 100% productivity because a lot of those people are monitored by a time tracker to know what they are doing, and worse is that they are going to micromanage you, which for sure you can't rest in a bit. Also, having a less toxic environment is really good, as it can make you more motivated to go to work, and you'll be doing what you want without thinking that the eyes are on you.

It will be very difficult for remote workers to come back to the office. Just being able to start a day at work without having to go through the crazy traffic is a blessing, that alone sets the tone of the day to be a productive day. I have friends who haven’t stepped foot in an office since Covid and they are at their happiest. To be honest, I think the value in working in an office is overrated.

[Quidat]

A study published by the American private nonprofit research organization the National Bureau of Economic Research found that the productivity of workers randomly assigned to work from home was 18% lower than that of those in the office.
https://africa.businessinsider.com/careers/new-research-finds-that-fully-remote-workers-are-less-productive-than-their-in-office/4vxn4sy

These researchers found that if you work from home you will be less efficient and productive than people who from their office. Can we say the same about freelance workers?  Do you think that if workers are given the chance to "own" a task like freelancers they'll be more productive because it is just like being self-employed where you treat it as your business and not with the mindset of another man's business?

I disagree with the publication, I think it depends on the type of job and how the company pay salaries. If salaries are performance based then surely it wouldn’t matter if the workers come in to the office or work remotely, they would give 100% to their job because they know their paycheck depends on their productivity. There are two sides to the coin; there are people who need to be in that work space or atmosphere to be able to perform, but working from home eliminates the toxic work environment problem that workers complain about.

and mostly this is in remote jobs to be 100% productivity because a lot of those people are monitored by a time tracker to know what they are doing, and worse is that they are going to micromanage you, which for sure you can't rest in a bit. Also, having a less toxic environment is really good, as it can make you more motivated to go to work, and you'll be doing what you want without thinking that the eyes are on you.

It will be very difficult for remote workers to come back to the office. Just being able to start a day at work without having to go through the crazy traffic is a blessing, that alone sets the tone of the day to be a productive day. I have friends who haven’t stepped foot in an office since Covid and they are at their happiest. To be honest, I think the value in working in an office is overrated.

One of the reasons on why i do prefer remote work than on going to office is just because of traffic which is really that too hassle. Every year traffic comes even more worst here in our country on which it is really that greatly affecting your performance if you are keeping on getting late from work due to that issue or problem. HAve the solution on going early? Its one of the things i dont like on getting up early in the morning just to avoid that traffic which it is totally be wiped out or cant be experienced if you are working from home. Well, this is a matter of self preference since there are people who do really like for them to go to work and would be facing up with co-workers or simply does have that liking on socialization. This is why its really that much depending on the situation
since not all would really be able to get some traditional work and would be having the options on applying on what they do able to seek online but of course not all would really be getting hired
and there are still people who are jobless. Efficiency? I dont see much difference as long the work or tasks would be done then that what matter the most.

[edy_58]

Productivity is what we should be after and not what other people are saying about the work conditions irrespective of being a home or office location job, how effective can we deliver what is within our capacity and what is being expected of us, the capacity to how far we can deliver depends on our ability and personal interest, where we think we can perform best give the best quality delivery in our abilities, what you give in is what you receive back as reward to your labour in form of wages, location should not be a barrier.

It is true that for some people there is no problem doing work wherever and whenever they can do their work, but for some people they must have a special place to be able to do their work so they can get satisfactory results for them. You are right, what we do, of course, is in accordance with the wages we get at work, it is very impossible for us to provide good quality work while we don't get good wages either.

[dothebeats]

Productivity is what we should be after and not what other people are saying about the work conditions irrespective of being a home or office location job, how effective can we deliver what is within our capacity and what is being expected of us, the capacity to how far we can deliver depends on our ability and personal interest, where we think we can perform best give the best quality delivery in our abilities, what you give in is what you receive back as reward to your labour in form of wages, location should not be a barrier.

It is true that for some people there is no problem doing work wherever and whenever they can do their work, but for some people they must have a special place to be able to do their work so they can get satisfactory results for them. You are right, what we do, of course, is in accordance with the wages we get at work, it is very impossible for us to provide good quality work while we don't get good wages either.

I agree with both points. Personally, I do not like working around noisy environments but can be really productive when there is low volume jazz or chillhop music playing. As for the wages, of course that is an important factor. I will not enjoy working for a company that barely pays for the worth I am working and my time as well. I'm sure a lot of individuals will not as well.

[Huppercase]

These researchers found that if you work from home you will be less efficient and productive than people who from their office. Can we say the same about freelance workers?  Do you think that if workers are given the chance to "own" a task like freelancers they'll be more productive because it is just like being self-employed where you treat it as your business and not with the mindset of another man's business?

I thought America is a place where life is always at ease, this article is saying otherwise but I think it's an opinion rather than fact. If it appears to be true, many companies would by now avoid such kind of working policy, they would have change things but during the Covid 19 lock down, so many companies found out that they are even spending less when they work from home than when everyone present their self in the work place and since when they employed it, they haven't reverse it till now.

However, this is limited to some jobs, not every work can be done from home like the field work where your presence and effort is required. Jobs that can be done remotely and transmit are normal but to avoid problems like this headline, it's better to have a workspace at home where you can work comfortably than sitting in your room while doing the job.

[Mauser]

These researchers found that if you work from home you will be less efficient and productive than people who from their office. Can we say the same about freelance workers?  Do you think that if workers are given the chance to "own" a task like freelancers they'll be more productive because it is just like being self-employed where you treat it as your business and not with the mindset of another man's business?

I have heard about this research as well that workers are suddenly less efficient from home. This comes as somewhat of a surprise to me, because I still remember companies saying during the covid pandemic that working from home is fine and doesn't decrease efficiency. Now with the lock downs being over and the covid pandemic officially ended, the companies want their workers to return to office. And all of a sudden there is research to back up their decisions. Personally I don't think working from home is reducing efficiency that much. Sure working from home you might take a few small breaks on the side, but you would do the same in the office. Cigarette or coffee breaks where quite common in my company, or walking to meeting rooms and waiting for everybody to arrive. Now with all the zoom meetings you save a lot of time and can even work on the side. Also the whole concept of commuting to work saves so much time where we can already be reachable for the boss in emergencies.

[Comingdown]

I'm surprised to hear that this research found work-from-home workers to be less productive. When I used to work onsite, I saw that employees take their sweet time in everything and clock out on the dot because they'll have to travel back home. I guess it's also because of the distractions at home vs when they're onsite and everything they see is work-related.

My boss in my previous job feared that people who are working from home will just do the bare minimum and still get the same amount of salary. He then required all of the work-from-home employees to submit a daily report of their activities so that he'll be able to check if they did enough work. I think this is a massive failure because there are people who's quick in getting the job done so they'd do everything for 2-3 hours and just chill out for the rest.

My current boss treats us like freelancers in the sense that he lets us own projects. I do think that this method is more effective, as it makes the employees more productive, enhances leadership skill, and boosts morale. Output-based is definitely better.

[WatChe]

It will be very difficult for remote workers to come back to the office. Just being able to start a day at work without having to go through the crazy traffic is a blessing, that alone sets the tone of the day to be a productive day. I have friends who haven’t stepped foot in an office since Covid and they are at their happiest. To be honest, I think the value in working in an office is overrated.

Work from home has its own pros and cons. The biggest benefit is you don't wake up 2 to 3 hours prior to your office timings, get ready and then reach to your work place. If you are given a work from home option you can  wake up 10 to 15 minutes before your office timings and start working immediately. For many people working from home is no doubt a blessing.

[panganib999]

A little too biased for people who work on office, especially when hundreds of case papers were made about the efficacy of Work-from-home. I'm a living example of it too. I worked on-site for a while, and found that not only is my health deteriorating due to the stress of the work and the commute, but the fact that I also end up late more often because of the proximity of the office from my house meant less work is getting done. Now, I clock in without worries and do my job at my fullest capacities without the worry of getting late for anything, since all my work's in one place. I reckon these studies made against work-from-home were backed by companies who rent offices so they can force their employees to go to work cause they can't keep paying for offices that aren't getting filled lol.

[Odohu]

For me there is no sign of truth or evidence of reality to which the body of the content is directly explaining, why because there are some individual who made their home a personal office does it mean that these sets of people aren't making great inputs to their lives?

No! Because lots of people do love working from home as a matter of fact there could be more productivity and improvement while at their basic entities because there is nothing to worry about.
Lemme draw a little attention to those who worked at office, most times they aren't that open due to some personal issues or wanting to be free some kinds of worries even though they are in their place of work their minds and thinking are still channelled to their problems making it too difficulty to be productive and to get a meaningful results.

But that notwithstanding, most times it all depends on individual mindset and orientation, anyone who is determined to progress in life would definitely make it without any barrier or having to choose the best place to seat and work from. Lets say, in a family of 4 why is it that either 1 or 2 persons are making progress whereby almost all are graduates does it mean that the persons aren't determined to make success? No it's just a matter of heart "Dearing to succeed", therefore productiveness comes from heart orientation personal desireness [ permit me to use this word "Desireness' if there's a word like that] hence I would say working from home or having an office from doesn't determined how resourceful a woman should be or maybe how resourceful a man should be.

Apparently, there are sets of lazy bunch of banana's who doesn't like to work and knees to successful in life, and these sets of people fall under the category of "lemme manage the work at hand while my dream job come fort" are the people who may make the job looks very stressful and not yield any meaningful results to the entire organization and company, and if I am the CEO of such organization the only options I had is to get them fired off and to get them replaced by people who are knees to make progress in the company and, or the organization.

I totally understand and agree with your submission. A lot of young people I know are entrepreneur and work from home. If these ones are unproductive, it means they will fail... but a lot of them succeed and even work harder and smarter than those going to the offices or sites of their employers. Those who are unproductive because they are working from home are lazy or never loved what they do.