Working from home can increase productivity

| September 11, 2012

There are many advantages to allowing staff the freedom to work from home. Nancy Parker shares why you should let your staff set their own working conditions.

Lately there’s been a shift in what employees view as the typical office setting, with more and more agreeing that the standard office environment actually makes them less productive than they would be if they were allowed to work from home.


Employers, on the other hand, are split on this argument, with some clinging steadfastly to the notion that a bricks and mortar office is the only way to run a business, and others wholeheartedly agreeing that their company will be better off if employees are allowed to telecommute to their jobs every day.

Whatever your personal stance on the position, it’s undeniable that there are some definite pros to working from home.

  1. Employees can work on their time instead of during structured hours.
    One of the biggest problems that many employees have with commuting to a bricks and mortar office each day is that they are forced to work within a certain set of hours, whether they are actually functioning at their highest level of productivity or not. This means that they are required to sit in an office for a defined amount of time, even when they’ve already completed their work for the day, and are then stuck twiddling their thumbs until closing time. By working from home they are able to do their work during the times that they are the most mentally prepared to do so, resulting in a higher quality finished product.
  2. Have the ability to walk away from a project.
    Sometimes you just need to take a break, which is all but impossible when you are chained to a desk for eight straight hours. Working from home, however, allows you to take a step back and walk away when you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed. This gives you a chance to recharge and ultimately find a solution that you might not have otherwise found.
  3. Less micromanaging leads to more productivity.
    There are some managers that are the epitome of a micromanager, which is extremely frustrating for many employees. Having someone constantly disrupting your work flow to critique what you’re doing, talk about business, or just hang out over your shoulder means that the employee is less productive then if they were able to do their work uninterrupted throughout the day.
  4. Decreased stress levels.
    Work stress can manifest itself in many different ways, whether it’s stress over the commute to and from work, stress over the fact that you don’t get to see your family enough, or stress over the fact that you don’t have enough time to get done the things you need to accomplish. Employees who are less stressed are generally more productive.
  5. More time to actually work.
    Eliminating the commute to and from work every day frees up a significant portion of time spent driving that can then be devoted to working. Instead of sitting in traffic getting riled up and then arriving to work and having to calm down and get back in work mode, you wake up and can just get started. Employees working from home typically get even more done in less time than they would if they were in an office every day.

Working remotely may lead some employers to worry about decreased productivity, but in actuality many employees are much more productive and committed when they have the ability to work from home. For employers who are considering making the shift but still want some face time with their employees, weekly staff meetings can be the solution that fits everyone’s needs.

Nancy Parker is a freelance writer. She loves to write about a wide range of subjects such as business, health and parenting.

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