Although many companies have adopted the work from home trend long before the pandemic outbreak and secured the necessary tools for facilitating workflow, many others resisted the trend speculating that this would only harm employee productivity level. It is only with the beginning of the pandemic that companies found themselves having to adapt and make a swift switch to remote work to survive.
The stay at home policy in many countries prevented the spread of Covid-19 and allowed the needed time for employees to recover before they are back in their offices and minimised the risk spreading the virus among staff. It was not long before managers started to realise that remote work increased productivity among employees.
In fact, studies show that remote work is correlated with a decrease in physical and mental stress. However, a condition is to be maintained; to keep it a hybrid working model. Full remote work was associated with worsening of performance. A hybrid model would allow employees to work on certain days from home and other days at the office. Research suggests this to be a more favorable setup.
Working from home allows better balance between home and work life; something mental health has always called for. People experience more satisfaction in their lives when such a balance is maintained. Remote work also means more flexibility and less adherence to sapping daily routines. It saves the hassle of commuting every day and allows more time for sleep and space for personal needs beyond work. Add up to this, people can also work in comfortable clothes all day.
Furthermore, remote work encourages autonomy and higher performance. The social exchange theory explains how this works. People work harder from home because they perceive remote work as a luxury or a benefit being offered to them. They feel they have to repay back their managers by engaging in more challenging tasks and by being consistent and serious about their work. They want to justify that remote work is good enough and should be maintained.
Other factors appear to be associated in determining whether remote work would increase productivity or worsen it in people. For example, the surrounding environment is very important, whether home allows for a quiet space for working or if people would have to work while attending to children.
On the other hand, managers noticed a worsening in presenteeism. Employees who are ill and unable to go to work may continue to work from home with decreased efficiency level. In that case the ability to work while sick would impact both the employee health by delaying recovery and worsening productivity level.
People also get tired from continuous work on the screen. Back to back meetings may cause fatigue. Managers should be aware to the importance of keeping things fluid, flexible, and engaging. Too many times meetings are sometimes scheduled whereas a simple email could have delivered the information more efficiently especially when it comes to detailed information that needs to be processed and retained.
Personality also plays a role. For introverts, remote work is a bliss. Introverts feel like they get more chance to express their opinions in virtual meetings, they are less intimidated. For extroverts who get their drive and energy from interacting with others it can be a very torturing situation. The quick hello how are you at the beginning of each virtual meeting is very important to keep in check with how employees are doing and allows for some social interaction. Remote work may come at a cost of social isolation and losing the office culture where people engage on a daily basis face to face and form new connections.
Another pitfall is that when people work from home, they might have difficulty drawing the line between when the workday starts and when it ends. It is easy to continue checking and replying to emails all day and signing into more meetings in comparison to when you leave the office where you just shut down your device for the rest of the day. You may be even more tempted to take on extra work. This is where burnout comes in fast. For less disciplined workers, procrastination may be an issue. Studies have recommended that managers use motivating language and build trust in their teams rather engage in close monitoring to reduce procrastination.
In spite of all the drawbacks, remote work still appears to be an attractive and convenient solution. Many individuals are now in search of jobs where remote work is an option for at least part of the week with many others demanding such a shift in their current jobs if not offered yet. The trend is here to stay. The ideal model would be the hybrid model where people work from home with one or two days at the office.
Racha Hijazi, Clinical Psychologist, Medcare Camali Mental Health Clinic.
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