Workplaces have changed dramatically since Stanford University economics professor Nicholas Bloom, a well-known proponent of working from home, wrote the paper “Does Working From Home Work?” in 2015. “The Results of a Chinese Experiment.” The results of a two-year, randomized working-from-home trial conducted by Chinese travel business Ctrip came back with a resounding “yes.” Bloom and his colleagues discovered that Ctrip call center employees who telecommuted were more productive and less likely to quit their employment than those who worked in the office.
As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, several businesses began experimenting with the effectiveness of working from home. Employee expectations have shifted as hybrid work, which allows flexibility with both in-person and virtual work, has grown in popularity.
The benefits of working from home listed below
1. No commute
As Bloom and his co-authors point out in their research on working from home, not commuting can save employees a significant amount of time. Every day, the average American commutes for around 55 minutes round trip. Bloom’s study found that those who worked from home in Shanghai spent an average of 80 minutes commuting.
Not commuting adds an hour to each day — and more than a week to each year — while removing the stress of traffic and train delays from employees’ lives.
Lee said of her commute, which consists of going from her living room to her upstairs workplace, “I’m one of the lucky ones.” “It gives the impression of going to work without actually traveling there.”
2. Autonomy
“No one is occupied for the entire workday,” Lee explained, but at an office, you’re supposed to “sit in one place for eight to ten hours a day and at least appear active.”
Working from home, as Lee has done for the most of her professional life, is not an option. She explained, “You don’t have as much oversight.” As a result, there will be less micromanagement. She can take care of her mental health and manage her time at home. She can work when she’s most productive. “There was really not much flexibility for disability” in her part-time office positions, she added, because she controls depression and anxiety.
3. Fewer distractions
This is critical for Bloom, who does not recommend working from any home. Only those who had a home office and “exclusive peaceful access to [it] during their working day” were eligible to work from home in the “Does Working From Home Work?” research. (Bedrooms, for the record, were not included.)
Bloom and his coauthors suggest that a remote workstation like this makes home a more serene work environment than the office, and increases worker productivity.
Pryor understands the value of having a private, quiet workstation. “When you’re in a suitable environment, it’s simpler to perform deep work,” he remarked. “You can get that from remote employment.” However, a private office or Atlassian’s “ultra-quiet” library can help.
4. Customizable workstations
Lee like having the freedom to design her own workstation at home — it doesn’t have to be limited, like a cubicle, and it doesn’t have to fit into a bigger open office concept.
She has unique lighting in her home office and a whole wall covered with Post-Its, according to her. “I’m an obsessive note-taker,” she admitted, adding that her Post-Its occasionally spill over onto the window pane.
When she’s stuck on a project, she takes a rest on the couch across from her workstation. She appreciates the fact that her office allows her to “not just be productive, but also take a vacation from being productive.”
5. Travel opportunities
“It’s great to be able to take my work with me everywhere I go,” Lee added. “It’s like it opens up a whole new world to you.” Some people took use of the pandemic’s remote work flexibility to work away from home while visiting family and friends or simply exploring new locations.
Working in a timezone that is vastly different from your boss’s can make it difficult to communicate in real time — but it’s not impossible, especially if you plan ahead. Lee, for example, has family in the United Kingdom and frequently visits for months at a time while working remotely.