Working from home is great for productivity, it promotes a better work/life balance, and can it can even be a deal-breaker when it comes to hiring the best talent, but it’s also a great opportunity to get a load of other things done on company time – if we’re all completely honest about it, when we work from home we don’t spend every minute of our working day doing things for the business.
But does that necessarily mean we’re less productive when working from home? One in four bosses seem to think so, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
If we’re totally honest, we don’t spend every minute of our working day doing things for the business even when we’re in the office. So, why would it be any different at home?
Is working from home less productive?
Figures from the ONS have found that a quarter of bosses believe that remote working is less effective as staff aren’t as useful when they’re not in the office, even citing a drop in productivity.
On the other hand, half (52%) said there had been no change, while around on in ten (12%) said productivity had gone up.
But it seems that, for some bosses, being out of sigh means you’re slacking off.
Another finding revealed that attitudes vary depending on the industry you work in. As the table below shows:
Over half of education workers say they expect remote working to be used more in the future.
But only 3% of employees told the survey they have found it increase their productivity, with 13% saying the opposite.
So working from home is great in more ways than one, it’s essential you get the balance right though.
Hardly working from home
If you don’t get the work/home/leisure balance right when working away from the office, you can quickly find your productivity levels plummet thanks to the number of distractions you let pick away at your time.
ConferenceCall.co.uk Blog favourites, Tripp and Tyler, have taken a look at some of the biggest issues faced by home workers, and packaged it all up as a rap song (obviously) – does any of this sound familiar?
- Waking up and checking social media
- Changing from you home sweatpants, into your ‘work’ sweatpants
- Send and email really early and then watch TV until someone responds
- Taking a conference call while in the GP’s surgery
- Taking work calls while on the toilet
- The workday is never over as you never truly switch off
- It’s difficult to get motivated when you’re working from home alone
- Slow WiFi connections when working from coffee shops
- Home life getting in the way of work, especially when the kids get back home
- Working with clients who still use fax machines.
Take a look for yourself and see what you think…
What aspect of working from home do you find the most challenging? Let us know in the comments…
