Working from home decreasing or increasing productivity?

[Haruki]

I read that ST article about a WFH survey with 9000 respondents from 90 companies. Apparently, 2 in 5 said that they were less productive when working from home, that it took them much longer to do the same amount of work that they would have completed otherwise.

That was actually quite surprising to me. I mean... Doesn't it make more sense to force yourself to work harder/smarter to complete the same amount of work so that you can have more time to enjoy yourself now that your boss isn't around to give you the stink eye?

[PNGMK]

I hate WFH

[ProvenPracticalFlexible]

WFH suits for certain tasks and can be more productive. But working from home with small kids doing HBL at same time is an absolute nightmare.

[abbby]

I think WFH for the whole country is terrible. It's slow to get a response from your customers and clients, various departments, ie: accounts, finance...it really slows down productivity. And for families with kids around, is a nightmare as well.

[Wd40]

I personally love WFH. The amount of time saved in the commute and the lunch is huge. That is like 2 and half hours added. How can that not be improvement in productivity?

I personally find it more productive, that I can go and lock myself in the room and focus on my work. In office, it is always noisy and so many ways for distraction.

I believe all those people who say they prefer to come to office are
1) Lying
2) Dont have a life, office is their only life
3) Afraid, their job would be outsourced to a cheap 3rd world country and have to pretend how important they are and need to come to office.
4) Asian culture is all about showing your bottoms at work, if you leave office on time, people assume you are not productive. Maybe this translates people doing those surveys to write they prefer to be in office.

[tt1973]

WFH needs lots of discipline! Easily will drift off to the bed, TV, games and more ...

Agree with the others that WFH + HBL for kids = nightmare!!!

[Wd40]

WFH needs lots of discipline! Easily will drift off to the bed, TV, games and more ...

Agree with the others that WFH + HBL for kids = nightmare!!!

This is why we cannot have good things. I am shocked by your statement. Are you saying this about yourself or about others? This means, you cannot be trusted to work independently, when nobody is watching. This is exactly the Asian mentality that I was talking about.

We work in Agile scrum model. Every 2 weeks we have sprint planning. Every day we have standup. There are expectations out of us. We just need to deliver those expectations. How does it matter if you sit in Office, garden or starbucks as long as you deliver? Will you drift off to bed, when you know, tomorrow morning standup, you will be asked, whether you completed your task or not?

[ProvenPracticalFlexible]

Wd40, quite a generalisation from just your own experience.

If you have a bad office environment without privacy areas and a job which doesn't need much collaboration with others, it doesn't mean all other offices and jobs are all like that.

Also sounds like you were not allowed to work from home earlier if this is something new to experience. I've worked in roles, industry and companies where working from home or beach or wherever has been an option for the last 13 years here in Asia. In my opinion it suits for some things but not for everything. And it's easier for some people depending on their family situation too. Seems like you don't have that take care of homeschooling kids trouble either.

Lunch part I don't get, are you forced to take long lunch break in office? And not allowed to eat with your laptop if you wish?

[bro75]

I like WFH but in terms of productivity, it is the same as in the office. Because we do not need to commute and prepare, there is additional time for work and other things but there are also distractions at the home.

[bgd]

It's all well and good until the tech fails. Last week I was upgraded to a new and better VM. Since then I've been spectacularly unproductive. I spend all my time watching support trying to fix my new and better VM. I'm currently waiting for a support "agent" now.

[Haruki]

I think if (A) the majority of our tasks allow for independent work, (B) we have the tech support we need, and (C) we don't have to juggle childcare demands at the same time, WFH is definitely the better choice... unless you're an extrovert and need people around to boost your energy levels lol.

Like Wd40 said, the hours saved on the commute is incredible. Adding that to my lunch time, and the amount of time I would have spent getting ready for work, I have roughly 4 extra hours a day now. When at work or commuting to/from work, I think the activities that we can do are so limited. If I'm at the office, I can't spend my lunch hour on a power nap without getting judged by my colleagues. I wouldn't be able to complete household chores, or get some quick exercise in. The office pantry isn't always conducive for work if I wanted to work through lunch either, and it takes more time/effort to try and cook in the office during a 1-hour lunch break. The list goes on.

[Wd40]

Wd40, quite a generalisation from just your own experience.

If you have a bad office environment without privacy areas and a job which doesn't need much collaboration with others, it doesn't mean all other offices and jobs are all like that.

Also sounds like you were not allowed to work from home earlier if this is something new to experience. I've worked in roles, industry and companies where working from home or beach or wherever has been an option for the last 13 years here in Asia. In my opinion it suits for some things but not for everything. And it's easier for some people depending on their family situation too. Seems like you don't have that take care of homeschooling kids trouble either.

Lunch part I don't get, are you forced to take long lunch break in office? And not allowed to eat with your laptop if you wish?

My daughter does HBL but she is 8yrs old and quite independent. Also my wife is stay at home house wife so, she cooks for me and takes care of the house, I can focus totally on my work when I want to and when I need a break, I can talk to my wife and come and see my daughter etc.

We have a nice 3 bedroom house and just 3 of us. So there is lot of space and we are not bumping into each other, like maybe other Singaporeans with many people in the same house.

I can understand some jobs need collaboration, but that is an exception. Most jobs are perfectly suited to work from home.

Regarding lunch part, even if I sat at my desk and worked through my lunch, I cannot get leave office early, can I? But if I work from home, I can finish my work early and guess what? I am home!

[Wd40]

I think if (A) the majority of our tasks allow for independent work, (B) we have the tech support we need, and (C) we don't have to juggle childcare demands at the same time, WFH is definitely the better choice... unless you're an extrovert and need people around to boost your energy levels lol.

Like Wd40 said, the hours saved on the commute is incredible. Adding that to my lunch time, and the amount of time I would have spent getting ready for work, I have roughly 4 extra hours a day now. When at work or commuting to/from work, I think the activities that we can do are so limited. If I'm at the office, I can't spend my lunch hour on a power nap without getting judged by my colleagues. I wouldn't be able to complete household chores, or get some quick exercise in. The office pantry isn't always conducive for work if I wanted to work through lunch either, and it takes more time/effort to try and cook in the office during a 1-hour lunch break. The list goes on.

Exactly, if anyone is seeing through all the advantages you mentioned and still telling that they love to go to office, then I am guessing they are incredibly privileged. Maybe commute is not an issue for them. Maybe they have nice flexibility in the office to arrive and leave whenever they want. Maybe they manage big teams and them being in office is to make sure their subordinates are doing their jobs. If you are just a cog in the wheel, I cant believe you would say, you want to go to office.

[fatandsmelly]

Good thing I'm unemployed, so I don't have such issues

[ProvenPracticalFlexible]

@WD40, so you statement was just because you have only one kid and a wife to serve you. Life can be quite different for 2 full time working parents with more than one kid like P1 kids just got school started. So calling others liars or losers whose jobs are at risk is a bit narrow minded and judgemental. Especially when you just explain that basically your own job could be as well done anywhere.

Not to mention that you work in a place where they or your mind watch after your working hours not your results. I can go to office or not go to office and leave when I'm there at any time and finish my work at home or whichever location I feel like. Obviously not now during Corona time but normally. And it's been like that for 13 years. So maybe it's your company's corporate culture that is not upto 21st century.