How Working from Home Increases Productivity (Infographic)

It’s been almost a year since the pandemic changed our lives. It has made the home office essential for many workers. Now, as vaccination efforts gather pace worldwide, companies are preparing for life after lockdown.

One decision they face is whether to return to the office space. From an employee perspective, the answer is clear: they’d rather not. A Gallup poll conducted at the out-set of the pandemic showed that 59% of workers would prefer to work from home as much as possible following the crisis. Overall, employers agree: 84.5% of respondents to HubSpot’s 2020 State of Remote Work survey plan to offer their employees options for remote work on a part-time or full-time basis.

As a business owner, it can be challenging to decide the best solution for your company. Luckily, experts have been studying flexible work arrangements for several years now, and there are plenty of helpful resources available. Because performance is a great concern for employers, we’ve sifted through these materials and concluded that working from home increases productivity. This article and our associated infographic explain how.

Defining Productivity

Productivity is the amount and quality of work produced per unit of time. Everyone wants to increase it, but what does that look like?

The answer varies by business. Increased productivity may be completing more tasks like client calls, reports, and applications. Or, it may equate to better ideas, solutions, analyses, and designs. We can measure it in various ways, including activity-tracking, evaluating customer feedback, and examining product quality.

However you define and measure productivity, it’s affected by many factors including stress, focus, availability to work, motivation, and engagement.

Workers Are More Productive From Home

Employers are already noticing the benefit of work-from-home arrangements. For example, one recent study showed that 85% of global companies saw an increase in work productivity after offering workplace flexibility options. It found that 74% of Canadian business leaders believe allowing employees to work remotely increases productivity by at least 20%.

Employees share this belief and are consistently reporting that they’re getting more done from home. Numbers from research over the last several years support employees’ experiences: they are more productive when working from home. A Stanford study observed a 13% productivity increase among employees at a Chinese call center. More recently, California-based company Prodoscore shared proprietary data indicating a 47% increase in productivity for remote workers.

Work-life Balance Leads to Better Job Performance

Balancing work and personal lives can be quite overwhelming; commutes and office hours only add to this frustration. This stress affects employees’ physical and mental health, and in turn, their performance.

It’s in an employer’s best interest to help their employees improve their work-life balance. One of the most effective ways to do this is by allowing employees to work from home. According to FlexJobs’ Work-Life Relationship survey, over 85% report that working from home reduces stress, improves mental health, and enables better self-care, leaving them with more energy to create high-quality work.

Flexibility Improves Focus

The office is excellent for things like collaboration, spontaneous creative interactions, and mentoring. However, it’s also full of distractions. It’s hard to focus on work while someone clips their nails, you can hear your colleague’s German polka music, or a birthday celebration is taking place in the breakroom.

Working from home gives your employees more control over their work environments. Owl Labs reports that 79% of workers list better focus as one of the top benefits of working from home. Focused employees are more productive, making flexible work a win-win situation for you and your team.

As Remote Work Increases, so Do Retention Rates

When employers grant the freedom of the home office, employees reward this trust with hard work. According to a 2020 survey by Airtasker, remote workers put in 1.4 more days of work per month than office-based workers. They also take fewer sick days, and request fewer days off for personal matters.

In fact, 84% of Canadian businesses offering home-office options say it’s helped them attract and retain talented employees. Remote workers are also less likely to switch jobs, with 74% of workers reporting that they’re less likely to leave a job that offers them the option to work from home.

An All-round Win

If all this evidence supporting the productivity increases of remote working hasn’t convinced you, Gallup has two stats that will. When employees are highly engaged and motivated, their productivity increases by up to 15%. The most engaged employees spend 60-80% of their time working remotely.

So, whether you offer your employees remote work on a short-term, long-term, or as-needed basis, your business will thank you for it.

Matt Munro

Matthew Munro has worked with WBM Technologies for over 5 years, supporting the growth of our outcome-driven partnerships across Alberta as an Enterprise Account Manager. His work generates efficiencies with a focus on delivering, and accelerating, customer goals and objectives through technology. Born and raised in Southern Ontario, Matt traded Ontario’s lakes for Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. He is an avid alpine skier who enjoys travelling to the coast in the summer months.