Working from residence myths ‘debunked’ as Andy Burnham set to make main change
A scientific study found home workers reported more job satisfaction, less motivation to leave the company, less stress, a better work-family balance and higher performance ratings by supervisors.
Boffins have debunked myths around working from home(Image: Getty Images/Tetra images RF)
Forcing remote workers to return to the office can harm their morale, studies shows. And working from home can actually increase productivity among staff despite fears it does the opposite, boffins believe.
A scientific study found that telecommuters reported more job satisfaction, less motivation to leave the company, less stress, a better work-family balance and higher performance ratings by supervisors.
Researchers found that forcing workers back to the office ked to a high turnover of senior staff at major firms. And another study found it led to “significant declines in employees’ ratings of overall job satisfaction and work-life balance.”
Boffins believe home workers are happier(Image: Getty Images)
It comes as Andy Burnham’s government published new guidelines to better protect people who want to work from home. We reported how working from home can damage men’s careers more than women’s, a study has found.
Here, your Daily Star looks at three WFH myths – and how boffins have debunked them.
Hybrid work increases productivity
A 2015 study by researchers at Stanford University examined a trial run where 249 call centre employees were randomly assigned to work from home or in the office. The study found that remote workers outperformed those who kept going to the office.
The report, published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, found: “Home working led to a 13% performance increase, of which about 9% was from working more minutes per shift (fewer breaks and sick days) and 4% from more calls per minute (due to a quieter working environment)”
And in 2024, boffins at Stanford ran a six-month trial involving 1,612 employees at the same company. Nicholas Bloom, a researcher on both papers, said: “The results are clear: Hybrid work is a win-win-win for employee productivity, performance, and retention.”
Andy Burnham has come up with a strategy for home workers(Image: Getty Images)
Hybrid workers are more loyal
Many bosses believe workers are more loyal to a firm if they’re in the office more. But researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that remote work increased employee loyalty in a 2007 study.
Author Ravi Gajendran said: “We found that telecommuters reported more job satisfaction, less motivation to leave the company, less stress, improved work-family balance, and higher performance ratings by supervisors.”
Forcing staff back to the office can harm morale(Image: Getty Images/Tetra images RF)
Returning to office hurts morale
Another line spouted by bosses is that it’s good for morale to be in the office among colleagues, but research suggests forcing a return can have the opposite effect.
Researchers used Glassdoor employee ratings to judge morale at companies who had forced workers back to the office and tried to find any financial benefit to the change.
And they found such mandates caused “significant declines in employees’ ratings of overall job satisfaction, work-life balance, senior management and corporate culture.”
Is also found: “Firms with mandatory return to office plans do not experience significant changes in profitability and market values.”
