Working From Home Makes Employees More Productive, Is That True?

Recently, an online petition titled "Bring Back WFH Because Roads Are More Congested, Polluted, and Make People Unproductive" has been circulating.

The petition was uploaded by Riwaty Sidabutar on the Change.org website and, as of Thursday afternoon (5/1/2023), had been signed by approximately 18,000 people.

In her petition, Riwaty urged the government to implement a flexible work policy allowing employees to work from home (WFH).

She feels that the work-from-office (WFO) system is ineffective.

"After two years of working from home, having to go back to the office is even more stressful. For example, I have to travel 20 kilometers to get to the office. And if it rains, I could get stuck in traffic for a long time," Riwaty said in her petition.

"WFO doesn't necessarily make us more productive. Because of the long commute, I'm more tired, and my work isn't as good as when I work from home," she added.

Many Employees Feel More Productive When Allowed to WFH

What Riwaty Sidabutar feels seems to be shared by many people worldwide. This is evident in the Ipsos report, *Return to The Workplace 2021 Global Survey*.

According to the survey, the majority of global respondents (66%) agree that employees should be able to choose between WFO and WFH flexibly, even after the pandemic has ended.

The majority of global respondents (64%) also felt they were more productive if they could freely choose between WFO and WFH.

"Respondents who prefer a flexible work system generally come from higher education and income levels, are women, young adults, and parents with children under 18," Ipsos stated in its report.

Although the majority support the WFH system, a significant number of respondents miss the presence of their colleagues (52%).

A smaller percentage of respondents felt that their home environment was not conducive to productive work (38%), while others felt more tired while WFH (33%).

The Ipsos survey involved approximately 12,500 employees across 29 countries. The survey was conducted online during May-June 2021.

The survey results do not all add up to 100% (may be more or less than 1%) due to rounding of percentage answers, or respondents selecting more than one answer.