How Remote Work is Impacting Productivity

Remote working has gone from a rising trend to a way of life for many people. According to a recent Gallup poll, about 33% of the national workforce is telecommuting on a full-time basis. When you include those who work on a remote basis at least some of the time, that number increases to more than half of U.S. workers.

Even as the COVID vaccine becomes more widely available, remote work is likely here for the long term. Across various industries, savvy business leaders believe that remote work will be an integral part of the post-COVID landscape. In December 2020, for example, FlexJobs CEO Sara Sutton told the Denver Post that, “there is no going back to the way things were” before the pandemic altered life (and employment) as we know it.

On the surface, it’s easy to see why the widespread shift towards remote work was so swift. After all, working from home keeps us safely socially distanced from co-workers and fellow commuters alike.

Benefits and pitfalls of telecommuting

Despite its public health benefits, however, remote work is far from perfect. For starters, remote work may have a profound long-term impact on productivity. Although more research is needed, the general consensus in the business world is that not every worker has what it takes to be productive in a work-from-home environment.

That’s because working from home is inherently more challenging than the alternative, in many respects. Those challenges range from the stress of isolation to connectivity and software issues. Research indicates that new remote workers may also face mental health challenges and/or a decreased sense of wellbeing.

Yet that’s not the entire story, as millions of workers were successfully telecommuting long before COVID. Furthermore, countless members of the national workforce made a smooth transition from an in-person environment to remote work in the wake of social distancing, without compromising productivity.

Let’s take a look at the rise of remote work, as well as its potential impact on productivity, now and post-COVID.

Working from home across history

Interestingly, it’s not remote work that’s a modern invention but working outside one’s home that’s indicative of contemporary trends. For generations, people from all walks of life have operated businesses from their homes. In early America, tradespeople — for example, an 18th-century blacksmith — typically lived and worked in the same space.

That paradigm was drastically altered by the early 1900s when the Industrial Revolution was in full swing, and countless working-class individuals took on factory jobs that required at least a short commute. Around the same time, zoning laws came into favor throughout many U.S. municipalities. The city of Los Angeles kicked off the push for greater governmental control on land usage, passing the nation’s first municipal zoning ordinance in 1908.

At their core, zoning laws serve to separate commercial areas from residential zones, creating an undeniable distinction between work and home life. Unfortunately, however, early zoning laws sometimes served to fuel the division of people based on race or class. In cities such as New Orleans and Cleveland, for example, zoning laws were often synonymous with segregation.

Though the world has gotten much more inclusive since that time, the sad reality is that discrimination remains a critical social issue in the 21st century. Workplace discrimination is particularly problematic, as it can negatively impact one’s livelihood and ability to provide for one’s family. Additionally, workplace discrimination can have a detrimental effect on one’s happiness and feelings of self-worth, ultimately impacting productivity.

Discrimination in the workplace is, unfortunately, more common than you may expect, despite existing laws designed to protect workers from all walks of life.

Worker protections in the United States

In the U.S., workers are theoretically protected from discrimination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Act spawned the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which oversees the national employment landscape and enforces federal workplace discrimination laws.

Workplace discrimination can occur based on race, sex, class or disability status. It’s illegal whether it originates on the sales floor, in one’s home-based office or even during the hiring and job referral process. Research indicates that people of color and women face the highest rates of workplace discrimination. According to the 2019 REGARDS study, 25% of black women have experienced some form of workplace discrimination or mistreatment during their careers.

Interestingly, remote work has been touted as a potential avenue towards curbing discrimination in the workplace. To begin with, telecommuting virtually eliminates the potential for awkward or uncomfortable in-person interactions, keeping employees safer. What’s more, when workplace discrimination occurs in a remote work environment, there’s typically evidence left behind, in the form of an email, text or social media post.

There are also accessibility factors to consider. For their part, those living with physical disabilities may find it liberating to work from the comfort of one’s home. Even when a company is diligent about following the tenets of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), for example, the physical workplace itself may not be accessible to all, especially in older buildings.

The opportunity to telecommute also means that employees with physical disabilities don’t have to stress over the commute to work. Often, reducing personal stress whenever possible can keep employees productive and capable of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.

Remote work: differences of opinion

There’s plenty of research to back up the simple fact that, when workers are happy and less stressed, they’re inherently more productive. In 2019, researchers from Oxford University concluded that happy workers are 13% more productive than their malcontented counterparts. The study made no distinction between remote workers and those who work in an office.

In order to optimize productivity, business leaders across all industries should do their part to cultivate happiness among their workers. However, one’s work environment is only one of the myriad factors that contribute to personal fulfillment. For instance, the Oxford study also uncovered a negative correlation between worker happiness and adverse weather events.

As such, one may ultimately conclude that remote work can make us happier, as working from home keeps us out of the rain, snow, and traffic with no need for a lengthy commute. Yet despite continued research, a virtually infinite amount of differing opinions exist in regards to the viability of remote work.

Even before the pandemic hit, there was plenty of contention surrounding the very idea of telecommuting. For some, remote work is the answer to eliminating various social ills, such as workplace discrimination. Others feel that telecommuting reduces, rather than improves, worker productivity since not every worker can handle the pressure and isolation inherent in a remote work environment.

Further complications exist on the business side of remote work. A June 2020 article published by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research postulates that a company must have an effective performance review system in place to achieve long-term telecommuting success. The article also claims, “working from home is here to stay, but post-pandemic will be optimal at about two days a week.”

Tips for increasing productivity in a remote environment

Yet for all the positives that come with remote work, the unfortunate reality is that telecommuting just isn't possible for every worker. On an individual level, remote work takes discipline and strong communication and organization skills. Business leaders should also do their part to provide employees with the right tools for the job, no matter one’s login location.

To effectively do the job, remote workers need a strong, stable internet connection, as well as up-to-date technology such as laptops. Optimal productivity also hinges on time management, since remote employees are ultimately responsible for finishing assigned tasks on schedule. By monitoring the amount of time spent on particular tasks, remote workers can ensure transparency and see where improvements can be made to better stay on task and maximize efficiency.

Of course, even the most advanced tech tools and methods can’t replicate the social aspects of a workplace. Socially distanced meetings over Zoom are a poor replacement for real human interaction, and many remote employees may find themselves struggling to stay productive without that social connection.

To bridge the gaps, employers may want to consider hosting virtual team-building and social events as the pandemic rages on. By effectively replicating at least some aspects of the office dynamic, companies may see a dramatic boost in productivity and overall worker happiness.

Key takeaways

The pandemic drastically altered life as we know it, including how we work. Thanks to COVID, millions of us are now working from home, at least some of the time, and that trend is likely to continue into the foreseeable future. To that end, ensuring workplace productivity in 2021 hinges on keeping remote workers engaged and happy. Business leaders must act accordingly by providing their remote employees with the right tools for the job, as well as work towards cultivating a more inclusive work environment, despite the physical distance between us.