HR hacks | How working from home undercuts productivity

With the added anxiety of coronavirus – its acute effect on health and the longer-term impact on business, jobs and the economy – it’s a wonder that anyone is getting anything done at all.

However, with many white-collar professionals now able to work from home – without the added distractions of the office (okay, slightly facetious, everyone is aware that virtual messaging channels can be an effective stand-in for the distractions of most modern open-plan offices) – could there be a productivity boon?

Results from one study certainly indicate that there might be. Professor Nicholas Bloom, a researcher in economics at Stanford University, concluded a two-year project on the impact of homeworking at one Chinese travel firm and found that home workers were 13% more productive and less likely to quit due to this style of working.

However, he doesn’t think the productivity benefits will translate to the enforced homeworking that is happening during the coronavirus pandemic.