Howard Levitt: Here's why the work-from-home arrangement isn't working for many companies — and their staff

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When my own law firm’s employees chose to work from home in March, productivity plummeted over 30%

When Patrick Pichette, the former chief financial officer at Google, was asked in 2013, “How many people telecommute at Google?” he liked to answer, “As few as possible.” That is not surprising. Those companies reported a decline in engagement and collaboration, which are more difficult to develop over a screen while simultaneously being distracted by the many tempting invisible diversions that do not exist in in-person meetings.

Some recent studies have shown slightly increased productivity but those are largely self-reported by employees, incented to establish that it is working, notably with little or no objective measure. Interestingly, when shown the numbers, everyone was surprised, believing that they were being equally productive. Being an essential service, we were able to remain open and decided to call everyone back four months ago, staggering it initially with every second workday.

It should not be surprising that some spend a portion of their days performing more pleasurable tasks than working.Women and racialized minorities have also been particularly disadvantaged by remote work. To have their skills recognized and get ahead in workplaces which may be biased against them, they benefit from the increased visibility of their skills, and the close mentoring relationships that are much more prevalent in the physical workplace.

 

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