The Productivity Revolution: Your Guide for the Future of Workplace Allocation and the Effects of Working from Home

Abstract: Remote work is not a new phenomenon, but the global standard up until very recently has been that employees work full time from their offices. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of employees to work from home for an extended period of time, accelerating discussions and strategies regarding the future of workplace allocation and where employees work best. Many companies are now considering using a hybrid workplace model following the pandemic, meaning that employees will shift back and forth between working from home ("WFH") and working from the office ("WFO"). In this report, we first collect prior research on the effects of WFH on employees and organizations. Theory suggests that there are a variety of potential upsides and downsides with employees WFH which are related to areas such as productivity, satisfaction and work-life balance. Some studies contradict each other, and most areas addressed contain elements that can be both positively and negatively impacted when working from home. We then use a qualitative approach and conduct interviews to investigate the effects that working from home has had on eight employees and one manager at a company which acts as a support function to a large Swedish grocery retailer. The interview subjects are asked about their perceived productivity when working from home, their job satisfaction, and the advantages and disadvantages of WFH compared to WFO. The manager is asked questions about how having employees WFO has affected the organization's productivity and the manager's ability to lead a workforce. We find that interview subjects perceive a variety of advantages and disadvantages related to WFH that affect their productivity and satisfaction. Advantages include increased flexibility and freedom in their schedules, improved work-life balance, and increased efficiency due to fewer interruptions from colleagues. Disadvantages include that it is harder to have creative meetings, that there are communication issues due to it being more difficult to get a hold of coworkers, and reduced social interaction. Based on prior research and our interview results, we analyse the company's potential to successfully implement a hybrid workplace model and conclude that it is both realistic and that they may benefit greatly from doing so. However, there will be some challenges related to having and leading a hybrid workforce that must be addressed. The tools to address these possible issues are presented as well.