Can working from home increase productivity and why working from home is more productive!
In short the answer is YES, and there have been studies to support this and below are the reasons why!
- There is no to commute to work,
- There are less person interruptions as you would in an office set up,
- You can organise to work when you are most productive,
- Flexibility to work outside of normal hours to get things completed, although not encouraged,
- The rate of employees leaving drops, this has been proven in a study
Can Working from Home Increase Productivity
No commute to work
When you work from home you do not have the commute to work. Depending in what location you live and if this is in a city then this could give you back anything from 1 – 4 hours a day back. Getting to work after a commute can delay you getting into your workflow. It is reported by NRMA that more than 70% of drivers in Australia having experienced road rage in the past year and one in five drivers have committed road rage. I’m sure this would be similar in other parts of the world, particularly in more populated cities. All this before and after working your 8 hour day.
Less Interruptions
Working in an office environment can be distracting with interruptions and invites for a trip to the favourite coffee shop or water dispenser for a quick chin wag (Gossip). Working from home can provide and environment to allow uninterrupted work time and I have found that I can get more done. For me it is like when you get up early in the morning and power through a heap of work, whether house work, paying bills on line, cleaning outside and you look at the clock and it’s only 8am, and everyone is still asleep or just waking up and you say “Wow, I feel like I have go so much done and it’s still early”.
More Productive
Another good thing is that you can organise and work when you are most productive. Everyone has that prime time when they work at their peek and once you know when this is you can try and arrange your day to maximise this time. A study conducted by a Chinese Travel Agency revealed the benefits that working from had on both the employer and employee. Nicholas Bloom is the Eberle Professor in the Department of Economics at Stanford University, gave a great talk on their findings and highlighted the positive impact it had at Ctrip China based Company. Bloom goes on to explain that despite Ctrip believing that the financial benefit with the reduced cost of rent would outdo their projected loss in productivity. Ctrip actually found the opposite with productivity increasing during their study. Why working from home is good for business ted talk.
Rate of employees leaving drops
People working from home have reported to be more happy, more productive and less stressed than their counterparts working in an office. The turn over of an employee, to an employer cost thousands in lost time, lost productivity, training hours and possible lost business. A study headed by Prithwiraj Choudhury, an associate professor in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School, compared the outcomes of flexible work arrangements at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), to see How Companies Benefit When Employees Work Remotely. During the study they allowed worker to adopt a liberal “work from anywhere” arrangement. The study found that while working remotely all employees productivity increased and continued to rise as they moved from part time remote working into a more full time work-from-anywhere policy. A 4.4 percent increase in productivity was reported when employees moved from working at home on a limited basis to the location of their choice.
Challenges the Employer faces
Despite all the positives having employees working from home there are still challenge the employers can face before breaking through to experience the rewards it has to offer.
- Having trust in their staff,
- Feeling of out of sight out of mind and keeping the remote worker feeling engaged,
- The feeling that the employee may not be doing the right thing or anything at all.
Once these are overcome working from home can be a huge benefit to both the employer both financially and through productivity.
Final Thought
Studies have shown that working from or working remotely has a positive affect for both the employer and employee, and increases productivity and can saves money. Having said all this working from home or remotely is not for everyone or every work field. You will need to assess your individual situation and see if working from home is the right fit for you as working from home does have big challenges.
Resources
These are some resources that will help with productivity and choice.
Book – 4 hour work week by Tim Ferris – Check the price on Amazon
Book – High Performance Habit by Brendon Burchard – Check the price on Amazon
Regards
Ben @ Beka Products
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