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Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

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Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#61

Post by lawnchair_larry »

inglor wrote: post #27
a_imho wrote: post #21

Participants were not even selected random Enter Bloom, who helped design a test whereby 500 employees were divided into two groups--a control group (who continued working at HQ) and volunteer work-from-homers (who had to have a private room at home, at least six-month tenure with Ctrip, and decent broadband access as conditions).

Came here to find this. Precisely what I thought - I think that some people work better remotely and some work better in an office setting (like myself). If you ask people to volunteer for remote work then people who are better remote workers are likely to volunteer and more likely to work harder to prove it can work.

Still interesting that people who volunteer for remote work are more productive on average than those who prefer office work.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#62

Post by js8 »

lawlorino wrote: post #44

> 500 employees were divided into two groups--a control group (who continued working at HQ) and volunteer work-from-homers (who had to have a private room at home, at least six-month tenure with Ctrip, and decent broadband access as conditions). That's a huge selection bias - if the 'treatment' group are self-selecting volunteers from your pool of all employees then that causes a whole host of issues.

It is selection bias, but the study shows more work being done. If people who self-selected for working from home would do so to try to avoid working, then why there would be positive result (and more work done)?

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#63

Post by lawnchair_larry »

ende wrote: post #53
ramblerman wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Sometimes they come in late and leave early, sometimes they work from home and I can tell by what they produce they spent half the day doing something else. But then sometimes I’ll get an email at 2am on a Saturday because someone found his/her coding flow at an off hour. god bless you for this insight. As a contractor I've worked at multiple places, and my current gig cares more about 'asses in seats' than output.…

As a contractor, you are under no obligation to be an ass in any seat, and if client says otherwise you can point them towards IRS reclassification.

Not really true, it’s easy to make the case that work must be done on site. Company policy prevents source code from leaving, or network resources are not available outside the office or something.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#64

Post by gowld »

pilingual wrote: post #58

“If companies want hackers to be productive, they should look at what they do at home. At home, hackers can arrange things themselves so they can get the most done. And when they work at home, hackers don't work in noisy, open spaces; they work in rooms with doors. They work in cosy, neighborhoody places with people around and somewhere to walk when they need to mull something over, instead of in glass boxes set in a…

> hackers don't work in noisy, open spaces; they work in rooms with doors.

> They work in cosy, neighborhoody places with people around

Which is it?

That article did not age well.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#65

Post by Groxx »

l5870uoo9y wrote: post #48
ak39 wrote: post #13

First para hits the nail on the head. The issue is: trust between managers and employees. Also, "work from home" paradigm will only succeed when management paradigm changes from managing time to managing outcome. And changing that management style is not easy. Managing outcomes requires managers to understand not only the strategic agendas set by the bosses higher up but also the technical paths to achieve them confr…

> managing time to managing outcome A task will take the time that have been reserved for it. That is inefficient. Changing to a result-orientated approach where an employee is giving weekly or daily tasks (if it isn't too complicated - which is really a good question) would also mean that if an employee is finished with his weekly tasks after 3 days, he gets to go home. For many seems counterintuitive (fixed time ma…

I don't know about you, but when I finish the stuff I have tasked for the [time period], I immediately start building tools that scratch itches I've had. Some of these have gone on to be rather impactful where I've worked, and I'd never have built them if my time were tightly managed.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#66

Post by gowld »

a_imho wrote: post #21

Participants were not even selected random Enter Bloom, who helped design a test whereby 500 employees were divided into two groups--a control group (who continued working at HQ) and volunteer work-from-homers (who had to have a private room at home, at least six-month tenure with Ctrip, and decent broadband access as conditions).

The journalist made a mistake. The paper says:

> After a lottery draw, those employees with even-numbered birthdays were selected to work from home, and those with odd-numbered birthdates stayed in the office to act as the control group.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#67

Post by gowld »

Promarged wrote: post #60

> Enter Bloom, who helped design a test whereby 500 employees were divided into two groups--a control group (who continued working at HQ) and volunteer work-from-homers (who had to have a private room at home, at least six-month tenure with Ctrip, and decent broadband access as conditions). Did it say volunteer ? That already stains the results as control group and the test group are not similar. Maybe volunteers are…

The journalist made a mistake. The paper says:

> After a lottery draw, those employees with even-numbered birthdays were selected to work from home, and those with odd-numbered birthdates stayed in the office to act as the control group.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#69

Post by tysonzni »

a_imho wrote: post #21

Participants were not even selected random Enter Bloom, who helped design a test whereby 500 employees were divided into two groups--a control group (who continued working at HQ) and volunteer work-from-homers (who had to have a private room at home, at least six-month tenure with Ctrip, and decent broadband access as conditions).

According to the paper, the random selection was done on participants who expressed interest.

> Approximately half of the employees (503) were interested, particularly those who had less education and tenure, their own rooms, and faced longer commutes. Of these, 249 were qualified to take part in the experiment by virtue of having at least six months’ tenure, broadband access, and a private room at home in which they could work. After a lottery draw, those em- ployees with even-numbered birthdays were selected to work from home, and those with odd-numbered birthdates stayed in the office to act as the control group.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#70

Post by gowld »

ILikeConemowk wrote: post #32
kccqzy wrote: post #15

On the other hand, it is also imaginable that working at home away from everyone else makes communication harder, and more opaque. Or it can make you lonelier. Not every company has policies and culture that makes it conducive to work from home.

> lonelier How can being at home ever make you lonely when it gives you more time to focus on relationships that actually matter. Am I alone in thinking that those who expect any kind of meaningful bonding at work are misguided? Yeah, one can enjoy smalltalk and the like but I'd much rather change that for a chat with a friend or my dad early in the morning.

Social people enjoy both chatting in the morning and having company during the day.
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