Are we more or less productive when we work from home? This question under debate since the Covid pandemic divides opinion. On the one hand, the defenders of teleworking who believe that the comfort of employees at home puts them in better conditions to be productive. On the other, the detractors of this way of working, who deplore in particular the lack of physical proximity that impairs communication, the flow of knowledge and finally to the quality of the work done.
And to back up their claims, each field relies on studies that lead to opposite results. If the works of researchers Bloom in 2015, Barrero in 2021 or Aksoy in 2022 conclude that teleworking can lead to better performance due to better concentration and greater job satisfaction (up to 13% according to researcher Nicholas Bloom), others make the opposite observation.
This is the case of the work of Lewis and Gibbs in 2021 or Morikawa. The latter observed a drop in productivity of around 30% in Japanese companies during the early stages of Covid, due to higher communication and coordination costs with colleagues.
Teleworking and productivity are not incompatible
Drawing in particular on previous work, these researchers show that a lower degree of communication has deleterious long-term effects on the rate of innovation and knowledge creation, as well as on a company’s engagement with important players, such as its customers. and suppliers Conclusions that obviously differ depending on the sector of activity, the size of the companies, the business efficiency or even the country.
A new survey by the OECD Global Forum on Productivity (Global Forum on Productivity) tries to bring a new stone to the debate. Conducted online with leaders and employees from 25 countries on their experience and expectations of working from home, with a particular focus on productivity and well-being, it arrives at a nuanced result.
Launched at the end of 2020 during the health crisis, questioning company managers and employees, the study considers “that a strong adoption of teleworking and high productivity are clearly not incompatible.”
But the researchers observe that it is in the most innovative companies in terms of managerial practice where teleworking is most widespread and where productivity is the best. In other words, the quality of management seems to be an essential factor rather than teleworking as such.
In addition, productivity in teleworking would not be constant. If productivity were to improve in the early days of teleworking, it would then tend to fall as the intensity of teleworking increases.
The observation is that productivity would increase until reaching a peak between one and two days of teleworking in the week. Beyond that, it would fall again and wipe out the gains seen during the first period.
The opinion survey carried out among company managers and employees is very positive.
By contrast, only 12% of employees and 15% of managers say they have had a negative experience during the crisis, they add.
Positive feelings but fears.
For 6 out of 10 surveyed leaders, the productivity of their employees has increased thanks to teleworking (because they are more focused and make fewer mistakes at home). Additionally, 57% of managers believe employees work more because of the time they save commuting.
For the company, the productivity of capital is a non-negligible element with gains in unnecessary expenses and a redirection of the corresponding savings towards investments and innovation.
Positive feelings that, however, do not erase all the fears linked to the excesses of teleworking. Thus, more than 75% of managers fear that an excessive level of teleworking will harm collaboration between team members, thus hindering the long-term growth of the company’s productivity.
In addition, 73% of them believe that the corporate culture and the fact that employees are recognized in the company can be compromised if employees do not go to the office or company facilities.
The same goes for fears in terms of innovation. “More than 60% believe that teleworking harms innovation and creativity,” the authors explain.
Measurements that, however, can only be carried out over long periods of time.
Source: BFM TV
