Pretty interesting study on the subject:
https://bfi.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/BFI_WP_2021-56.pdfIn our sample, employees were able to maintain similar or just slightly lower levels of output during WFH. In order to do so, they worked longer hours. Despite this, employees had less focus time to perform tasks, and the net effect was a drop in productivity. It would be interesting to see if this change is sustainable, especially in light of evidence of the adverse effect of long work hours on employee well-being, and mental and physical health (Sparks et al., 1997; Sokejima and Kagamimori, 1998; Sparks et al., 2001).
It is likely that WFH also resulted in a decline in intangibles that are valuable to the employee and company. Working relationships, professional networks and corporate culture may have suffered. More subtly, when people work in the same location, they experience unplanned interactions. That can lead to new working relationships, and “productive accidents” that spur innovation. It is not easy to generate similar unplanned interactions on teleconferences. Finally, employees had fewer opportunities for coaching, and meeting directly with supervisors. This undoubtedly slowed their development of human capital.
We explored several possible explanations for the decline in productivity. Our main explanation is that some aspects of work are more difficult to perform in a virtual environment. We provide clear evidence that this is the case. More time was spent in meetings, and those tended to involve larger groups. Less time was spent in direct interactions with the supervisor or colleagues. Employees also narrowed their spheres of communication, interacting with fewer people and business units, both inside and outside the firm. Collectively these indicate that costs of communication, collaboration and coordination are higher when done virtually. Moreover, these factors are likely causes of changes in focus time, and in the decline in productivity.
