work-from-home boom will lift productivity in the U.S. economy by 5%
- Thread starter cycloneG
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I agree somewhat, but all companies having those challenges you highlight in a work from home environment is not clear cut either. That sword cuts both ways. A lot of different factors go in to whether a company will have those issues with employees working from home.
This is surprising but there is also a down side to this. Doing things virtual is very impersonal, it can have an impact on work culture and can weaken the strength of a team. It's great for some fields but it also has a negative impact. It would be miserable to work for a company that's biggest priority is productivity.
I agree the face to face meeting gets more done especially on specific projects, etc. Just easier to communicate etc. Emailing or texting specifically just gets too mixed up and tone, etc. can be misinterpreted.
But the freedom for a group to be able to meet when/where it works best for them to be most productive (which is not always at the same time set by management) is helpful.
In addition, meeting times being set for a certain time amount no matter what. I've been in meetings that were 'required' to be an hour, but things got done in about 15 minutes and other things that needed attention could have been the focus shift.
To me the Hybrid model is the best option. Best of both worlds.
But for some people wfh 100% is going to be the best, and for some 100% in the office is better. Smart companies will realize and embrace this over some mandate one way or another.
But for some people wfh 100% is going to be the best, and for some 100% in the office is better. Smart companies will realize and embrace this over some mandate one way or another.
We're still working from home and I haven't heard of a return to office date. Now that I have been doing it for over a year I have a decent routine.
I'm not sure if my productivity is up 5%.
One thing about being in the office is you get a better feel for everything that is going on. Working from home seems to put many people in a bubble so they don't see the big picture.
I'm not sure if my productivity is up 5%.
One thing about being in the office is you get a better feel for everything that is going on. Working from home seems to put many people in a bubble so they don't see the big picture.
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The Boss-Sometimes your employees need a smack to the back of the head so they can refocus.
Same Boss attends multiple meetings every day where probably 60% of it is spent bsing.
I'm not going to say I love working from home, it certainly has its challenges for me. I did like personal interaction with people, especially when discussing design options.
That being said, the benefits outweigh the negatives by quite a bit when we are discussing productivity. I don't usually get on and start working any earlier than I did before I commuted to the office, but where they win, I'm more likely to stick around and do an extra bit of work well after the normal, "Quitting Time" because I'm already at home. My commute is whatever time it takes me to log off of my computer.
Especially this time of year, when it starts to get nice outside, I wanted to be home to enjoy the weather before it got dark or too cold. That just isn't as big of an issue now. And even better, if I need to get out an mow the lawn, I do it, then just come back in and work some more after it's dark. Before, if I had to mow, I left at 5 and never came back until the next morning.
There are a lot of jobs that this kind of thing just doesn't apply to though. I'm an accountant. Nobody needs to see me and my job is super siloed. There is absolutely no reason for me to be going into the office. 90% of days I don't need to have any interaction with people.
The easiest way to absolutely bring my company loyalty to zero would be to make me go back into the office 5 days a week. Thankfully my employer won't, but if they did, I'd be stapling my resume to telephone poles to try to find my next stop.
I'm a very early riser. I wake up about 5:00 AM and get to work right away. Take a break to bring little guy to day care from 7:30 to 8:00. Take a break at noon to workout until 1:00 or 1:15. then I get back to work about 4 or 5. I'm working more than I ever have and I'm honestly enjoying it more.
It's been a blessing to cutout my 3 minute commute. It has allowed me to work an extra couple hours a day from my home office. Now I roll out and hit my home office at 6:30am until 5:30pm. Before, since I had to leave the house I would go work out first and then go to the office, so I have been able to eliminate the exercise too.
My business is moving in 2 months. 20% of the previous office space, 300% increase in warehouse space.
We're swapping out office space we no longer need for ability to ship and store more products in house. Bringing some shipping and fulfillment in house. Companies in shipping and fulfillment are booming anyway in spite of this.
My wife has been WFH for over a year and this is her takeaway as well. She enjoys aspects of it, like wearing a hoodie/yoga pants to work, sleeping in, no commute etc, but our house is small and her office is in our living room, so there really is no 'escape' from work for her.
I did WFH for 6 months in 2020, went back early November. Certainly miss aspects of it, but admit I noticed my productivity went up a lot once I was back in the office.
I'm fortunate to have a hybrid schedule that predates the pandemic. So switching to 100% remote wasn't actually that difficult for me. I'm back to a hybrid model. I'm in my office when I need to be. But there is zero reason for me to commute in every single day.
My employer has been handling this the exact opposite of most -- their default position is to leave everyone WFH and slowly introduce purely-voluntary options to come back area by area. Right now, WFH default is already extended at least into September.
Me too, but I think it's just because I didn't know how to benefit from it yet. Now I enjoy helping my kids get ready in the morning and having lunch with my wife.
I am excited to get back to the office, because there's certainly value in my work, but am disappointed to see a pretty hard stance being taken by my company. I've been pushing for a bit of a "schedule." I think most people need flexibility in the mornings & afternoons. Have people on site 2-3 days a week from 9:30 - 2:30 or something. One day is your known, big meetings. The other day is meeting free to allow walk-up conversations & quick collaboration.
We'll ultimately lose talent by being so hard-lined on this.
It's not as simple as some think it is. A LOT of it depends on the kind of work being done - is it individual contributor type work or does it require lots of team interaction to get it done? Some things really lend themselves to WFH, and others are impossible or just really difficult.
The other elephant in the room is the specific employee. Some people are not good on their own - either they aren't happy working alone, some because they are flat out lazy. Personally, I am less effective WFH, I would rather be in the office.
Just from this thread you can see the different types of work and personal preferences showing (e.g. BryceC vs Buster28).
There are real benefits to WFH, less commute time, closer to family, lower office costs and reduced energy use. But there are drawbacks too. Less human social interaction, less sense of belonging from being part of a team.
In most environments, some kind of flexible hybrid is the best solution. Which I think is what most places will do going forward.
ALL of our employees are wanting to get back into the office full time, and we have had to push back to keep them out. We've always been flexible when someone has a sick kid, etc to let them WFH anyway. But we did an informal count, and about 70% are vaccinated, our office environment is not cramped at all, so we figured the risk will be low enough to let folks come back in May 3rd.
The other elephant in the room is the specific employee. Some people are not good on their own - either they aren't happy working alone, some because they are flat out lazy. Personally, I am less effective WFH, I would rather be in the office.
Just from this thread you can see the different types of work and personal preferences showing (e.g. BryceC vs Buster28).
There are real benefits to WFH, less commute time, closer to family, lower office costs and reduced energy use. But there are drawbacks too. Less human social interaction, less sense of belonging from being part of a team.
In most environments, some kind of flexible hybrid is the best solution. Which I think is what most places will do going forward.
ALL of our employees are wanting to get back into the office full time, and we have had to push back to keep them out. We've always been flexible when someone has a sick kid, etc to let them WFH anyway. But we did an informal count, and about 70% are vaccinated, our office environment is not cramped at all, so we figured the risk will be low enough to let folks come back in May 3rd.
Yep. I also handle the training for all of our college student co'op interns. Not being able to coach them and mentor them has me worried we won't be able to retain a couple of them who will be AWESOME FTE's when they graduate
Honestly, I've found that since WFH meetings have been way more productive and the meaningless ones have been cut out. Things tend to be on topic and to the point and not a lot of side BS like we had in person.
I also get to use my internet, phone, utilities and toilet paper. My favorite part is having no separation from where I live and where I work.
That was sarcasm. I tried working from home for a week when covid first started and was playing tennis, mowing and drinking beer by Thursday. Fortunately, we all got laid off that Friday and went back to work full time when we went back.
I prefer going to work, but understand people that prefer wfh. I do also feel that a lot of wfh are full of **** when they say they don't **** off parts of the day though, they just don't have to be sneaky about it like those of us in the office. I'm writing this from my desk right now, so you can tell how productive my Friday is.
I think a hybrid model is best balance of productivity, safety and environmental concerns.
My ideal post-covid week that seems it is actually going to happen:
1 day a week in office
Second day either in the office or meeting in a client's office. (lucky for me I live walking distance from where meetings often are)
3 days a week from home office
I can definitely agree that many 100s of days in a row working from home with no meetings or interactions in person is not ideal.
