work-from-home boom will lift productivity in the U.S. economy by 5%

[cycloneG]

Work From Home to Lift Productivity by 5% in Post-Pandemic U.S.

The great work-from-home experiment occasioned by the pandemic has divided opinion in the corporate suite and sparked endless debates about whether employees work as effectively from the kitchen table as they do from the office.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

Don't tell that to the boomers who can't wait to get their employees back into the office...

 

[MartyFine]

When they find out this results in lower fuel demand and reduced greenhouse gas emissions there won't be any question we're all going back to the office.

 

[Cloneon]

So, let me get this straight. A desk job, able to be done anywhere there's an internet connection has people disputing its net gain. No surprise. No driving, by itself, is chocked full of good reasons: lower insurance, lower fuel consumption, lower maintenance, less stress, more time to devote to job. I'm sure the opponents will be funded by those associated industries (ie car, insurance, gas). But, now let's consider the savings in commercial real-estate. A whallop of savings.
Of course, initially, there will be more adjustment pains, but being in the industry, any company not already designed for remote workers was just plain negligent. I had already prepared all the small businesses I consult for.
The bottom line is: ALL companies should be shifting towards split labor policies. Better for everyone ... and the planet.

 

[BillBrasky4Cy]

So, let me get this straight. A desk job, able to be done anywhere there's an internet connection has people disputing its net gain. No surprise. No driving, by itself, is chocked full of good reasons: lower insurance, lower fuel consumption, lower maintenance, less stress, more time to devote to job. I'm sure the opponents will be funded by those associated industries (ie car, insurance, gas). But, now let's consider the savings in commercial real-estate. A whallop of savings.
Of course, initially, there will be more adjustment pains, but being in the industry, any company not already designed for remote workers was just plain negligent. I had already prepared all the small businesses I consult for.
The bottom line is: ALL companies should be shifting towards split labor policies. Better for everyone ... and the planet.

Plain and simple, those who don't offer up the flexibility will lose talent.

 

[SCNCY]

For me personally, when I work from home, I would say I am online for longer periods of time. Basically my commute time is spent logged in to my computer.

 

[JM4CY]

I absolutely hated working from home. And I’m glad I’m not anymore.

 

[Cyinthenorth]

My company has already announced a "Back to the Workplace" date of 6/1 for pretty much all staff. Seems unnecessary to me, but I don't get paid to make those decisions.

 

[dawgpound]

My work started a rotation where my group goes in two days then home the rest. I wouldn't be surprised if its permanent this way. Those two days are nice for meetings that are better in person. But I like still being able to be home some too.

 

[Buster28]

Working from home sucks. I'm only able to do maybe 10% of my job from home. It's fortunate that I only have to do it every other week. I can't wait until I never have to work from home again.

 

[Skidoosh]

I've been back and forth on it. Some days I get a TON done because I'm not distracted by office chit chat or pointless meetings.
Other days I find myself knee deep in cyclone fanatic threads...

 

[Dr.bannedman]

it seems silly to spend so much $$ in corpo infrastructure... increase productivity and give that $$ to the workers. HAHAHHAHAH sorry i must be on that good good this morning

 

[throwittoblythe]

Plain and simple, those who don't offer up the flexibility will lose talent.

I'm already an example of this. I approached my last employer about a remote arrangement in January 2020...BEFORE the pandemic. They said "eh, not so sure about that." They are based in MSP and my job was always "go where you're needed." But, they are old school and I would've been the first person in the company to work remotely. So, living in MSP was not a pre-requisite to do my job, but not something they had done before. Then COVID came and I worked from home for 4 straight months and thought "man, this is proving my case!"

Well, my boss had promised to follow up with me and never did. I waited and waited to hear something, but never heard anything. I kept dropping hints and he never really acknowledged them. I decided to move on and found my current company which was remote/WFH since their founding. When I put in my notice, there was no discussion around "hey, let's figure this remote thing out so you can stay." Just a "yeah we understand you want to be back in Iowa." So, they lost some talent just because they were inflexible.

 

[IcSyU]

My company has already announced a "Back to the Workplace" date of 6/1 for pretty much all staff. Seems unnecessary to me, but I don't get paid to make those decisions.

I have a bunch of clients who are using the "Alex on the freight dock has to be at work and doesn't think it's fair Susie in accounting can work from home but he has to go to work every day" justification for bringing people back. Boggles my mind. Other clients refuse to acknowledge productivity as it relates to work product and think their immediate presence brings out the best in their staff. Some of the excuses are unreal to me.

 

[SCNCY]

My work started a rotation where my group goes in two days then home the rest. I wouldn't be surprised if its permanent this way. Those two days are nice for meetings that are better in person. But I like still being able to be home some too.

There's been talk at my job about something like this. My manager told me that HR is working on a policy. But it sounds like the plan is to eliminate half of our office space in our current building due to people being able to work from home.

 

[snowcraig2.0]

My company has already announced a "Back to the Workplace" date of 6/1 for pretty much all staff. Seems unnecessary to me, but I don't get paid to make those decisions.

Same here.

 

[Neptune78]

It's great that the coastals don't have their hour long commutes, but it is surprising it has resulted in an increase in productivity when there's a shortage of the majority of goods sold.

 

[madguy30]

Can't open but iirc there's studies from years ago that working on a more convenient schedule if possible led to the same or better production than the typical 9-5 situation even with bonuses/incentives.

Had a relative who was a manager and the general premise was to have the project done by X date, within certain boundaries, however you can get it done, ask questions if needed, see you for Happy Hour that Friday, and it generally worked out great.

 

[clonechemist]

Have we already hit peak gas demand? Some think it already happened in 2018/2019:

U.S. crude output to keep rising, but gasoline demand is past its peak -EIA | Reuters

 

[Clonehomer]

For me personally, when I work from home, I would say I am online for longer periods of time. Basically my commute time is spent logged in to my computer.

I was this way for the first few months. After a year now, I'm having to put effort in just to get 8 hours in a day. From what I can tell from our Teams chat, I'm not alone. There are a lot of people away from their computer for vast amounts of the day. There is no way that productivity is up for our group. People may be able to work earlier and later, but they don't seem to stay nearly as focused while doing so.