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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

#261

Post by notadoc »

Ultimately most tech / knowledge workers need to work somewhere that allows them to focus and be uninterrupted.

Whether that is home, a dedicated office, coffee shop, or you're one of the rare individuals that can pull it off in a cube farm or the worst of the open office designs, do whatever works for you. This is where employers must be flexible, not everyone is going to be productive in the same environment.

And speaking of focus, disabling virtually all notifications on your phone and computer will increase productivity too.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#262

Post by Clubber »

greedo wrote: post #184
adriand wrote: post #114

I think it depends on what you want to optimize for. If you want to optimize for individual productivity (and there are no trust issues) then sure, working from home is effective. However, you may decide that the individual productivity loss of having people work in an office is outweighed by the group productivity and morale gain from having people working together. Here are some reasons from a holistic company pers…

One of the reasons companies like to have employees under one roof is to instill a "gung-ho" attitude. When employees know each other from face to face interactions, there are stronger bonds. These bonds help with employee retention. When employees are remote, they are in essence contractors, with less emotional commitment to a company. When employees aren't as invested (other than financially), retention can be hard…

That works both ways. If there is someone you just don't like at work, having to sit next to them every day really crushes morale.

>When employees are remote, they are in essence contractors, with less emotional commitment to a company. When employees aren't as invested (other than financially), retention can be harder.

Being able to remote will keep me at a soul sucking company a lot longer than having to drive through rush hour twice a day. Believe this: if you hire someone as a remote programmer, you will get better access to better candidates for less money. Consider it a competitive advantage.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#263

Post by greedo »

Clubber wrote: post #262
greedo wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the reasons companies like to have employees under one roof is to instill a "gung-ho" attitude. When employees know each other from face to face interactions, there are stronger bonds. These bonds help with employee retention. When employees are remote, they are in essence contractors, with less emotional commitment to a company. When employees aren't as invested (other than financially), retention can be hard…

That works both ways. If there is someone you just don't like at work, having to sit next to them every day really crushes morale. >When employees are remote, they are in essence contractors, with less emotional commitment to a company. When employees aren't as invested (other than financially), retention can be harder. Being able to remote will keep me at a soul sucking company a lot longer than having to drive thro…

True, but to a company, that's not as important as social cohesion. That's how companies get employees to overwork, to take work home, etc. Social cohesion is the glue that binds employees to their job, instead of the employee realizing it's a job. It's no different than getting free massages, or soda and snacks.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#264

Post by minipci1321 »

throwaway84742 wrote: post #43

As a manager: some people can work from home, and some just can’t. The problem is, you don’t know which is which when recruiting, and firing someone even remotely in a protected class is a huge hassle. Even so, if I were to start a company today, I would try very hard to hire remote, for many reasons, the most important of which is this would dramatically expand the talent pool, and (I believe) lead to less stressed…

> As a manager: some people can work from home, and some just can’t. The problem is, you don’t know which is which when recruiting, ...

Interesting! So, has it ever happened to you to hire a remote worker with a proven track record (say, 3-5 years, references checked) and then realize after some time that this person "doesn't fit the bill" for working remotely for you?

(If it has happened, I'd be interested to know details -- was it because of the specifics of your company's procedures, or something else?)

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#265

Post by zip1234 »

bonniemuffin wrote: post #221
aphextron wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I think a hybrid approach is the best. I go into the office every morning, get daily meetings done, show face for the boss, have lunch with colleagues, then head home at 1:00 and work remote until 5:00. This allows me to enjoy pretty much every benefit of remote work while still actively contributing to company culture and meeting collaboration which I prefer to completely isolated remote work.

But you still have to commute every day. Wouldn't it be better to work from home 2-3 days a week, instead of commuting in every day?

Going home at 1 would at least avoid the rush of traffic

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#266

Post by Clubber »

chrisan wrote: post #160
mamon wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not GP but I think that the point is that the whole "corporate culture" is mostly bullshit - you wouldn't expect factory or farm workers to form a "culture" and "take pride in their work" or "share company values", so why are you expecting all of this from knowledge workers? For me the whole "corporate culture" thing is just an attempt to brainwash people into accepting lower salary, because "we are changing the worl…

Ya I don’t think I’ve ever been in a “corporate culture” that wasn’t a facade.

Oh it absolutely is. Want to see evidence? If a client or someone important comes to visit the office, management asks everyone to wear nicer clothes and "clean up your workspaces." If culture was so great and beneficial, they sure make a point to hide it when it's important.

Total facade.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#267

Post by graeme »

I worked on my business from home for years. It was very productive.

Then a year and a half ago, I got an office two minutes away from my apartment.

I would say I'm less productive, but significantly more relaxed.

I think this is an improvement. (I say think because there's defintely a tradeoff to growing slower. I'm trading relaxation now for less relaxation later)

I'm not sure exactly why this is. Part of it is just being able to walk to the computer and quickly solve a task when it comes to mind. Or, conversely, to leave work and cook food/shower etc with no friction and then get back to work.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#268

Post by Clubber »

GordonS wrote: post #40
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…

> 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 I've been working 75-80% from home for several years now, and I've had 5 managers during that time. Before that, I mostly worked in an office, but my managers were located in another country. In that whole time, even having some terrible managers a…

>maybe things are just more progressive here than in the US?

Probably. For many in the US, managers tend to do very little to actually help things, but take all the credit (and rewards) for the positive outcomes. I suspect the US is successful in spite of how we do business, not because of it.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#269

Post by throwaway84742 »

minipci1321 wrote: post #264
throwaway84742 wrote: post #43

As a manager: some people can work from home, and some just can’t. The problem is, you don’t know which is which when recruiting, and firing someone even remotely in a protected class is a huge hassle. Even so, if I were to start a company today, I would try very hard to hire remote, for many reasons, the most important of which is this would dramatically expand the talent pool, and (I believe) lead to less stressed…

> As a manager: some people can work from home, and some just can’t. The problem is, you don’t know which is which when recruiting, ... Interesting! So, has it ever happened to you to hire a remote worker with a proven track record (say, 3-5 years, references checked) and then realize after some time that this person "doesn't fit the bill" for working remotely for you ? (If it has happened, I'd be interested to know…

I had employees who would ask to “work from home” and then not actually do much, hoping I won’t notice. But good managers do notice, of course, especially when some of the peers work from home as well and turn in reams of high quality code at a rapid clip.

I never had anyone who had a track record of _remote_ work specifically, though.

Re: Study Shows a Productivity Boost of Working From Home

#270

Post by isostatic »

Rainymood wrote: post #55

PhD student here so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I personally love the fact that I can choose to work at home or at the office. I can really concentrate at home (private room where I feel comfy) but on the other hand it is also significantly easier to distract yourself from work. Netflix is just one tab away and there's no one to look over your shoulder and whisper in your ear "Don't watch Netflix when you'r…

> I can really concentrate at home (private room where I feel comfy) but on the other hand it is also significantly easier to distract yourself from work. Netflix is just one tab away and there's no one to look over your shoulder and whisper in your ear "Don't watch Netflix when you're working".

I don't understand people with this problem. The problem I have is switching off from work

> If I feel optimistic like I'm a predator hunting some prey

That's like me trying to find a seat and socket in the office.

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