Benefits of WFH

(First of four parts)

Now that COVID-19 cases are rising yet again, businesses fortunate enough to be able to do so should seriously consider a work-from-home (WFH) setup for their employees not just as a stopgap, but indefinitely, as part of the new normal. Contrary to what many bosses believe, studies show that WFH in the pandemic generally increased employee productivity and satisfaction.

A nine-month study of 16,000 US workers by Nicholas Bloom of Stanford University showed that productivity increased by 13 percent due to fewer breaks and sick days by employees, and attrition rates decreased by a whopping 50 percent. Another study of 353 US teleworkers by Connect Solutions showed that 77 percent of WFH employees were more productive, with 30 percent accomplishing more work in less time and 24 percent doing more work in the same period.

Great Place to Work surveyed more than 800,000 employees in 715 Fortune 500 companies across the US, and compared productivity during six months of lockdown in 2020 to figures in the same period in 2019. For the majority of workers, productivity either remained the same or increased because of WFH, due to decrease in commutes and face-to-face meetings. (Zoom meetings are more likely to start and end on time.)

With the hassles eliminated, employees were able to finish more tasks.

“Gen Y-ers are more difficult to recruit (as reported by 56 percent of hiring managers) and to retain (as reported by 64 percent of hiring managers), but they are particularly attracted to flexible work arrangements (rating among benefits as an 8 on a 10 scale for impact on overall job satisfaction),” reports Global Workplace Analytics. It adds that “80 percent of employees consider telework a job perk.”

Starting May 2020, Twitter began implementing a WFH setup. In March 2022, CEO Parag Agrawal told employees in a tweet, “Wherever you feel most productive and creative is where you will work and that includes WFH full-time forever,” making Twitter a dream job for skilled knowledge workers.

I myself was lucky to experience the benefits of WFH. Before the lockdown, I could do at most one public seminar every few days, given the traffic and the fact that Filipino hospitality mandated my hosts treating me to a lengthy lunch or merienda before and after every talk.

During the lockdown, I could do three webinars a day, not just in Metro Manila, but anywhere in the world. I trained teachers in Davao, talked to students in Cebu, guided family businesses around the country and in the region, without wasting time in airports. In short, I communicated with more than 50 times the usual audience, while still maintaining my usual workloads.

Less commute also means less global warming, something several colleagues and I take seriously.

“Even today when COVID-19 levels are supposedly less, we allowed WFH for most employees,” says M, the head of a family retail business in Pasay. “While our competitors mandated going to the office and lost a lot of their people, we only lost 10 percent of our employees, mostly to retirement. We hired many of those from other firms at their current salaries. We are not a multinational, but we even attracted graduates from top schools who want the flexibility of WFH. Since March 2020, even with many COVID scares, our employees reported fewer sick leaves. Some were able to cook healthy meals at home or run around the neighborhood, so they lost weight and reported better blood tests.

“Right now we want to make WFH arrangements fair for all,” continues M. “Some employees who are front-liners still have to report to work, but we shuttle them from home to work because as much as possible we don’t want them to do public transportation. We shoulder [costs for] antigen tests and COVID-related illnesses and hospital stays, even for their family members. We are not sure we can afford it, but we hope to give those reporting to the office a hazard pay. They understand why they cannot totally WFH, and they appreciate that there are only a few people at a time in the office.”

(To be continued)