Working from home: great for people, terrible for innovation

“How often do you work from home?”  

When asked this question in, say, 2019, many people would have likely shrugged and said they don’t. Or they would have answered with anything from “once a week” to “occasionally.” Fast forward five years past that terrible pandemic, and chances are that the same question will garner a whole range of options. All thanks to that very same pandemic that glued office workers to their home chairs. They did the best they could. There were pros and cons, but along the way, everyone agreed: as soon as this ends, we’re not returning to working in the office full-time.  

Employers agreed, too. After all, many non-essential industries managed to stay up and running anyway – thanks to the right communication tools and hurriedly designed policies for working from living rooms, kitchens, and bedrooms turned home offices.  

When the pandemic gradually subsided, many employees saw the then-called ‘new normal’ as permanent. Working from home, not having to face stressful traffic jams twice a day, and squeezing in quick errands between online meetings made their lives more comfortable. They saw it as an acquired right. Employees succumbed, seeing a hybrid working policy as another tool for winning the war on talent. 

Now, the hybrid working pendulum once again swings in the other direction. Not that employers insist on everyone being present in the office all the time, it’s just that research shows that actual face time works wonders on many occasions. What follows are crucial considerations when discussing or drawing up policies regarding your people’s freedom to work from home. And if you’re an office worker, think about them when you decide the ideal balance between working in the office and at home. 

Are hybrid workers happier and more productive? 

Working from your home office can be fun. You don’t need to commute, which often means trundling through the rain or snow or facing traffic jams. Instead, you can set the alarm clock one hour later, make coffee with your favorite roast, play the music you like without headphones, and unload the dishwasher in between sending emails. Not to mention that you might be able to concentrate better, at least when you don’t live in a noisy apartment building or next to a busy highway. What’s not to like? 

Well, just that not everyone is more productive at the kitchen table. Some people simply cannot concentrate on their tasks at home; they just think about the mountain of laundry that needs to be processed or the errands they need to run. And when they give in to those non-work- related things, they’ll feel obliged to work longer hours to get things done – the fine line between their work and private life gets vague, which could cause more stress. To others, this freedom will lower stress levels, making them happier and more productive.  

Speaking of freedom, research shows that when you grant people some freedom to decide for themselves how often they come to the office, it will lead to more efficient hybrid working. However, it depends on how experienced people are in the matter – simply stating ‘do as you like’ may not be the way to go.  

But that’s just gut feeling. There are also facts to consider: according to three major studies, as quoted in this PWC research paper, hybrid work policies don’t reduce productivity or output. They even improve both, albeit slightly.  

Office work breeds innovation 

When working from home, you are not cut off from the rest of the world – any of your colleagues is just one text, voice, or video message away, thanks to a myriad of communication tools. And where would we be without online meetings?  

Still, occasionally seeing your colleagues in person is essential, especially for innovation. Yes, many great ideas sprouted from individuals sitting by themselves in silent rooms, but nothing beats interacting with people. And that doesn’t mean staring at a screen, interacting clumsily with faces in a grid, but looking each other in the eye and responding to signs of non-verbal communication. Anyone who has brainstormed online and physically in a room knows the latter’s benefits. Does that mean you need to force people to be in the office all the time? Absolutely not. Just that you need to carefully think about how you’ll strike the right balance between your company’s innovation and the wellbeing of your people.  

Your younger colleagues need you 

If you’re an experienced employee working in a well-oiled company, in a team where members know each other well, hybrid working will make things more dynamic for you and your direct colleagues. But consider having younger or less experienced colleagues for a minute – how do they learn the ropes when you only interact with them through a screen? People pick up little things by listening and seeing others interact on the floor. They build networks by talking to each other, in meetings and during lunch. Not to mention the advice, however small, they get while chatting for a minute in the coffee corner. It may seem futile, but it’s not. Employees who come to the office more often ensure that younger and inexperienced people understand the ins and outs of your trade, and will use this knowledge for your employer. And that is one giant benefit of working in the office, no? 

No face time, no promotion 

One last thing. “Want to get promoted? Show up at the office.” That was the conclusion of two professors from the London Business School back in 2012, and it’s still true today. The more you interact with people in real life, the more you gain their trust and the more you are on their radar, growing your chances of getting up the career ladder. If you’re after a promotion, you may want to consider showing up more often. 

Having read this, how would you answer this question: “How often will you work at the office?”