The Salary Calculator

The working from home debate

by Madaline Dunn

Back in 2020, as the Covid-19 virus took hold of the world, working from home became compulsory for those who were able to do so. And so, for many, came the rise of endless Zoom calls and Teams meetings, virtual social lunches, much more time at home, and fewer hours commuting.

However, as the world has slowly gained back control over the virus, WFH has endured in many workplaces. That said, the majority of people still never work from home (63.9%), 21.4% work in a hybrid model, and only 7.8% of workers permanently work from home.

Yet, despite the above figures, and many who choose to work from home touting the benefits of doing so, recently Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce conference, said workers should return to the office unless they had a “good reason not to.” One of the main reasons he cited included that WFH stifles creativity.

So, what’s the basis behind his argument, is there any truth in it, and what does the workforce think? In this week’s article at The Salary Calculator, we’ll walk you through:

• The statistics on productivity,
• How creativity is faring at home versus the office,
• How WFH impacts mental health and relationship building,
• What workers’ preferences are.

Variability in productivity

When it comes to productivity and WFH, depending on who you talk to or which sources you scan through, you’ll get a very different picture painted. For example, a study conducted by Stanford, which surveyed 16,000 workers over a nine-month period, found that for those working from home, their productivity was boosted by around 13%. A few contributing factors included having a quieter and more convenient place to work in and working more due to fewer breaks. Further, it wasn’t just productivity that was boosted; workers also said they felt more satisfied, and attrition rates were even cut by half.

This is supplemented by research from TechTalk which found that 55% of the 2,000 work professionals it surveyed concentrated better when working from home. Similarly, Gitlab found that 4 in 5 workers would recommend remote working to a friend, and 81% of people surveyed felt satisfied with remote working.

That being said, while individual productivity might be thriving in some cases, surveys show that teamwork isn’t faring so well. Gitlab, for example, found that only 37% said the organisation they work for does a” good job” of aligning work across projects.

Creativity in the workplace versus WFH

One of the main reasons Hunt has cited for a return to the office is his concern about creativity or lack thereof. However, while there is no definitive data, some research shows that employees can be just as creative, if not more so when working from home. Research from Better Up found that people were 56% more creative and thought more innovatively when working remotely.

Some of the reasons that the research team gave for explaining these results were that long commutes and excessive meetings, more time being alone and thoughtful, and being in a place of safety and strength contributed to more creativity. However, there are two sides to this, and research published in Nature on a field experiment across five countries actually found that more video-conferencing, something more prevalent in remote working, in fact, inhibit the production of creative ideas. Indeed, some workers are worried about this, with around 18% concerned about their creative output outside the office.

One of the common arguments regarding this is that without being in the office, workers don’t have the opportunity to bounce ideas off each other or spark up conversations that lead them down the road of innovation. There are no so-called “water cooler moments.” However, it really comes down to an individual’s working style.

Mental health and relationship building

A core issue often explored when discussing the WFH dynamic is how it affects mental health, well-being and relationships. Again, as with all of these areas, there’s a huge level of variability.

That said, isolation is often a common concern for those working from home. One study found that 81% of younger workers said they would feel more isolated solely working from home, while another study found that 60% of workers felt less connected to colleagues.

Further, many workplaces appear to be failing to provide their employees with additional resources to cope with these new challenges. In fact, one study found that under 30% (29%) are doing so. At the same time, around 19% of workers like WFH because it allows them to avoid office politics.

It’s not just work relationships that can be negatively impacted by working from home, though, according to experts, it can also put a strain on home relationships, for example, with a partner. This is often put down to being “physically present” but “unavailable” or due to letting work seep into home life.

Linked with this is the question of work-life balance. Living and working in the same space can make switching off difficult, with a reported 32% of workers finding it difficult to do so. This is especially true for those working in their bedrooms (17%) and living rooms (27%). Working in the former can also be bad for productivity and negatively affect workers’ ability to sleep. According to Hubble research, Gen Z reportedly struggles with this the most.

What are workers’ preferences, and what does the future hold?

So, all things considered, what are workers’ preferences? Do people enjoy WFH, hybrid or office-based working? Well, a wide range of contributing factors affect this, and it appears that age group also has a part to play.

According to Deloitte, 77% of Gen Zs and 71% of Millennials would consider looking for a new job if told they had to return to the office full-time. Meanwhile, another piece of research found that two-thirds (66 per cent) of workers aged over 55 years old prefer hybrid working.

Elsewhere, a study by Hubble found that, interestingly, Gen Z were the most “pro-office” group, while Gen X and Baby Boomers were more “pro-WFH.”

It’s likely that preferences will also depend on whether or not workers have young children; after all, WFH allows much more flexible scheduling (perceived as the main benefit for 50% of workers). Likewise, another factor is how far away a worker lives from their place of work; lack of commute is the secondary draw to WFH for 43% of respondents after flexible scheduling – this comes with big savings, too, a draw for 33% of people.

While the research shows that different groups might prefer different models of working, a key insight from research in this area is that workers like flexibility and the option to choose where and how they work.

Looking ahead, while the likes of Hunt may consider WFH to be detrimental to employees’ performance, it looks like it won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Moreover, leaked Labour policy documents reveal that the party is even planning to make flexible working a legal right. So, watch this space.

Tags: Economy, hybrid, Working from home, working week