Three days in the office and two at home is the formula for perfect productivity
At one point or another, I think we’ve all had the thought “Man, work would be so much easier if we had three day weekends…every week”. And true, it would make Mondays easier if they no longer existed or were experienced from the comfort of our couch. But recently, there’s been a study that with a slight variation, we just might be more productive if we did not put in as many hours stuck in cubicle-land. How, though? And where can I find this study to show my own boss?
A recent study done by Hammonds with over 1,000 British office workers showed that 82% of those surveyed would be far more productive if they spent three days in the office and two at the leisure of their home offices. That being said, over half of them said they constituted their home office as their bed, or at least admitted to working from there occasionally. Clearly, working at home comes at a price. Maybe because of that, employers are a little more than reluctant to let their workers start and end their work at home with rationales like “I don’t trust my employees when I can’t see them” or “But it’s their house…won’t they get distracted?” But that seems to be a declining trend whereas more and more bosses are under the impression, if the works gets done, it doesn’t matter where it gets done.
The study goes onto show that those who do work from home on a regular or semi-regular basis often had a designated work area, used only for their hard earned job. Additionally, 23% of those surveyed honestly believed they worked harder than their coworkers still at the office. Maybe it’s because they didn’t have anyone watching over their shoulder and had to actually dedicate themselves to the job at hand.
Where does this leave us, the ones who still have to go into a cubicle field five days a week? Safe with the knowledge that more and more people are jumping on the bandwagon of productive working while at home. Of course, there can be the distractions of Netflix marathons (season four of House of Cards is airing right now!) and actually decent coffee you can make yourself whenever you feel the inclination, but with a designated area, it’s funny how much you can get done when there isn’t the ever alluding distraction of the breakroom, your work bestie conversations and more we often take for granted in the office.
With all of this being said, maybe we should be willing to give up our dream of a four day week in exchange for three in the office and two in the comfort of our home and home office. It could be the perfect blend of both worlds and a road towards more productive as well as more efficient work for everyone.
Sidenote: If you are looking for some inspiration for your home office Hammonds Furniture has designed an online quiz that could help. Visit http://www.hammonds-uk.com/
