There has been a lot of debate recently around the validity of a Work from Home (WFH) model. In 2020 Many employees and employers were forced into a situation where they had to adopt a WFH model. It is now 2022 and to the dismay of some many Employers are now requiring Employees to return to the workplace. Others are ecstatic to go back whereas others are going so far as resigning due to this offer being retracted. One side claiming disbanding WFH is Archaic and the other claiming WFH is for lazy people.
Henry Ford once said “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right,”
The arguments against Working from home are many. It can lead to employee demotivation, loss of Productivity, lack of community and teamwork and the list goes on. Strangely I could not find any specific statistics on a quick google search that substantiates these claims.
Doing a quick search on the benefits however and I found many statistics on the benefits of WFH and the value a happy employee brings to the party. For example a study performed by the Oxford University found that a Happy Employee is 13% more productive than their discontent counterparts over the same set of working hours. Another study by Nick Bloom from Stanford University showed that Productivity remained flat for employees working from home during the pandemic. The benefits were that resignation rates dropped by a 3rd and Job Satisfaction, Work-Life balance and loyalty were significantly higher.
The fact is that Employers as well as Employees are divided in their opinions on the subject. I believe there are several factors that should to be taken into account when deciding if WFH is a good strategy or not. Here they are:
1. Industry Type.
Not all Industries or roles suit a Work from Home Policy. A Mechanic or Electrician cannot work from home. People in a trade and that are not self employed and work from their own premises cannot work from home. A person in a finance position or someone providing telephonic tech support on the other hand could very easily work from home. What about sales people? That would depend what type of sales force you have. If its Telesales then they could theoretically work from home. If it’s a customer facing sales force they could be based from home and visit customers from their home base. Alternatively they could be based in the office. In my experience most of an employer’s sales force will be knocking the door down to get back in. The majority being more extroverted they simply love the interaction and want to be back.
2. Company Culture.
Here the question to be asked is: Why as an employer do you want employees in the office? What is the real reason behind bringing employees into the office and is it based on facts? Could it be because you don’t trust your employees or feel the need to micromanage them? If this is the case it may be time to have an honest look at the Company Culture and resolve that first. If as an employer you are seeing significant drops in Productivity that are not perceived. Drops you can prove in black and white. There are several approaches you could take:
2.1. Analyze.
First analyze where the productivity losses are taking place. Is it a set of employees taking advantage or possibly a team that is simply just not that effective? A team that needs the face-to-face engagement to be effective? If its individuals, do you really want to take a paint brush approach and risk making 90% of your workforce unhappy because its easier than managing a small subset of non-performers? Employees that are not productive working from home are usually not productive in the office either. Manage them. If it’s a team that needs to be in the office, then bring them in. One would need to look at external factors as well that could be causing Productivity losses, the Economy etc. In other words ask the question: Will bringing employees into the office actually solve the problem?
2.2. Go Hybrid.
Second. If all else fails review if you could take on a Hybrid approach. Rewarding productive workers that are able to work from home under clear policies. An area to look at could be whether your Company is more Results or Time driven. This may not apply to all industries, roles or teams. Certain industries and roles do demand a person be available between certain times. There are however roles and area’s where this doesn’t matter. Where it doesn’t matter if the result is delivered at 10PM or at 10AM as long as it’s delivered within a deadline. What would the reason for bringing those employees in be? If its to micromanage them. That’s the wrong reason. If its to be fair to the employees that cannot work from home. That’s also the wrong reason. An Employee also has the responsibility to understand that WFH is simply not possible for every role.
2.3. Mitigate.
Thirdly if your industry demands it bring everyone into the office and mitigate for the potential backlash.
3. Employee Personality.
During the Pandemic I worked with many extroverted colleagues. Colleagues that couldn’t stand the fact that they did not have the face-to-face interaction. They couldn’t wait to get back to the office. I also worked with other colleagues that were more introverted. They loved the fact they didn’t have to have face to face interaction and attend conferences or team building events. If Introverts make up between 25% and 40% of the population then its probably a similar ratio in your workforce. It is important to take employee personalities into account. Some Employees will thrive working from home and some will wither away if you force them to. This is not an easy aspect to address unless you adopt a hybrid model where WFH is optional. Whether its used to decide on a WFH strategy or not. Understanding team and individual personality types is beneficial to both the employer and the employee alike.
In Conclusion – Work from Home.
WFH is a complex debate and who is correct? The employer or the employee? I would say both and neither as it depends on many factors.
From an Employers standpoint it can be very complicated to try keep everyone happy. It is impossible to do so. There are many other factors to consider as well. For example IT Infrastructure, security (Personal & Information), costs etc. Every Employer must do what they believe is most beneficial to the business. My advice to employers would be to ponder the quote at the top of this article:
Then be sure you know the reasons behind pulling your employees back and that those reasons are valid.
From an employee standpoint my advice would be to analyze your own reasons for wanting to work from home. Where does it stand in terms of what you value most? If its high on the list and your employer cannot accommodate you for whatever reason its time to either accept it, change or to leave. Remember. Just as you have a choice so does your employer and that does not necessarily mean either party is wrong. It simply means there are different perspectives.
In the end whether you believe WFH is a solution that is workable, or you believe it is an unworkable solution – You are right!
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Until Next time,
Rob
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right,” – Henry Ford
