Skip to main content

Out of office, lower productivity, says 2014 workplace study


Working from home may not be all it is hyped up to be. Home workers work more hours for not much more pay, and often the over-hours are not compensated for their productivity. For example, if in a 40-hour week, a person works 10-20 hours at home, they may actually be doing more work above their company’s requirements, effectively therefore working for no extra pay. Productivity increases (from the workers' perspective), but does the boss think productivity increases?

Many people take work home and are therefore tending to work “round-the-clock” thus decreasing their hourly take-home pay. While technology enables people to work from anywhere under flexible arrangements, bosses think “out of sight is out of productive mind” - i.e. less productivity.

Workplace researchers, according to the Sydney Morning Herald (January 3-4, 2015) have found that most Australian bosses still believe that physical presence in the office is the best way to get high productivity from their workers.

The University of South Australia’s School of Business – in the Centre for Work and Life – conducted a study that showed most people are working a few extra hours from home on top of their required office work hours. And fewer people are working from home as part of formal arrangements with their boss than expected.

Researcher and adjunct professor, Barbara Pocock, said “informal working-from-home patterns” are growing. She said there has been less flexible official working hour approaches than they expected. It seems as if only 10% of workers do some work at home as an official arrangement, while the majority do it informally and in addition to their regular work hours.

Pocock said the reason bosses are not keen on flexible working hours for their employees (given advances in technology) could be a result of (1) the out-of-sight out-of-touch or out-of-productivity mentality, (2) being present in the workplace is still the dominant culture – i.e. presence equals commitment, and presence equals productivity, or (3) there is a low-trust work environment. But some workers don’t like working a lot of hours at home, as part of an official arrangement, because they are nervous about missing out on information, workplace decisions, and office politics.


However, many workers feel that there productivity increases at home because home-based work cuts down the commute time to the office, there is less distraction, they are more relaxed, and they are happier.




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

From a flat patch of uninteresting dirt, Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia, has transformed in four years (from 2014-2016) into a busy park full of trees, flower beds, sculptures, fountains, and events. Rike (Rikhe) Park is on the left bank of the Mt’k’vari River (the Kura River) near the Old City of Tbilisi. The Peace Bridge links the right bank to Rike Park. Rike Park is below the hillside Presidential Palace and, via cable car, it is the starting point for the ride to Sololaki Ridge (with the Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue). The glass box-shaped cable car terminus was opened on 23 June 2012, and since then the park has continually developed into a ‘people’s park’ where people can walk around, eat at the nearby restaurants, sit next to the statue of American president Ronald Reagan, climb the steps to Avlabari district, and access the sights of Meidan Square, the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church, the Old City, the waterfall, the sulphur baths, and t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...
2 comments
Read more