Does Work From Home Improve Productivity?

In the past, there has been resistance from employers to let their employees work from home. Most employers believe that productivity increases when you work at the office. Employees will focus only on work and nothing else. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a game-changer to our everyday lives. Work from home has made the home office essential for many workers. 

As pandemic is still ongoing, work from home has become part of our lives. Online meetings, which used to be an option, have become necessary for team members and clients to communicate. Despite vaccination efforts being expedited worldwide, many companies are contemplating whether to go back to the office like before or exercise the option of work from home. According to Gallup, 59% of workers would prefer to work from home as much as possible following the crisis. Let us share with you how work from home can improve your productivity.

Less distraction

According to the study conducted by Ask.com, 86% of employees prefer to work by themselves.  Employees prefer working from home as it improves their productivity because it’s easier to concentrate. In the workplace environment (especially loud open-type offices), you have to greet everyone. You are obliged to talk casually about what they have been up to or whether they watched the latest English premier league game. The list is endless, and all these brief chats (which can also be more extended conversations) can add to a lot of wasted time.  

There’s also the ‘context switching’ aspect that software development teams have heard. If you are ‘in the zone’ dealing with a complicated piece of code when someone visits your desk to ask if you can help them with something. You end up having to stop what you’re doing, change context twice (once to leave the zone and once to get back into it) before you’re productive again. Some reports even suggest that context switching can affect up to 80% of your productivity. 

Working from home limits the amount of social interaction with colleagues. Employees also get distracted much less than in the office. Yes, you may get distracted by your children who are bored staying at home for too long due to the pandemic. However, this distraction is manageable so that it will not affect your work productivity at home. On top of that, leverage the technology you have by customizing your notification to concentrate, your productivity will go up.

No commute

The beauty of working from home is that you save time from commuting. Travelling to an office, especially in cities like Kuala Lumpur, can take a lot of your time. Based on the report from Kisi in 2020, KL ranked 1st when it comes to most hours spent commuting, followed by Singapore and Bangkok in 2nd and 3rd places respectively. Those who commuted to their offices in the pre-COVID-19 pandemic spent at least 2 hours daily in total. That is about 486 hours a year wasted in commuting. That all adds up to over twenty-one days a year when we could be doing something more productive. Many people would instead re-invest that lost time and work from home to improve their productivity.

Work-life integration

Another factor that working from home can improve productivity is work-life integration. Work-life balance is about achieving your work and life coexist and thrive separately. For work-life integration is about bringing work and life closer together. Practising work-life integration does not define work time and personal time. It focuses instead on what’s the best time to do these things. For example, to work later in the day to focus on a personal project in the morning. This flexibility is essential for employee satisfaction. It values you as a human rather than a robot. Employees feel more appreciated and are unlikely to find other working opportunities.

Unleash productivity from introverted employees

For some employees, the open-type office setting where you’re required to stand up in front of many other employees for a presentation is equivalent to extreme stress. And then there are the after-work social gatherings you feel obliged to go to as well. 

It is not fair to introverts as they have to come out from their comfort zone. Employees, especially introverts, will cherish work from home as they feel more comfortable when your workplace is your home. That’s not to say they can’t handle being in a group, but 2-3 days working from home each week is what they need to feel more relaxed. At home is where they are most productive. The managers need to recognize this.

In conclusion, work from home does improve productivity. It is much easier to have people working from home than ever before. Employees working from home enjoy greater efficiency, versatility and health. The benefits of working from home for employers are that you have a productive and loyal workforce, lower expenditures and better access to talent. 

There are uncountable technologies, tools, tips and tricks out there that make it not just possible but help us learn how to stay productive while working from home. Vimigo has suitable tools that help maximize the productivity of your employees. Using the latest technology, Vimigo can help elevate your business by motivating and retaining your great workers. Visit our website for more info.