I am still unsure about where I stand on work-from-home policies. While I have experienced both the benefits and drawbacks of WFH flexibility and mandatory office attendance, I remain on the fence. In short, I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all solution.

Recently, Morning Brew published an article citing several research papers on falling worker productivity. However, these studies only focused on narrow definitions of productivity, such as creativity and informal learning, instead of the broader outcomes of an individual's job performance and output.

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The US is experiencing the biggest decline in worker productivity since 1948, according to research from EY-Parthenon, and many executives have been quick to single out remote work as the main culprit.
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Studies like these often overlook important factors such as employee happiness, well-being, and engagement, which can have a significant impact on an organisation's success.

Also missing is a consideration of how organisations are benefitting - or will soon benefit - from the broadly predicted spike in employee productivity following the adoption of generative AI technologies to augment current employee activities.

Moreover, current research fails to consider how generative AI technologies will (in time) augment current employee activities, leading to increased productivity for organisations.

While it is true that WFH technologies may not provide the same level of social/informal interactions as typically occurs in the office to help cross-pollinate ideas and enable information learning (such as serendipitous hallway chats, post-meeting conversations and coffee catchups), mandating a return to the office to recapture these interactions may not be the most effective solution.

#wfh #employeeengagement #productivity #productivityimprovement #remotework #work