According to a major survey from the technology giant Microsoft - conducted by a third-party firm in July and August - bosses and employees fundamentally disagree about productivity when working from home.
The survey accounted for more than 20,000 staff across 11 countries and the results showed that whilst 87% cent of workers feel they are as productive - or more - when working from home, 80% of bosses think otherwise.
Microsoft calls this disconnect “productivity paranoia,” where leaders fear that lost productivity is due to employees not working, because they literally can’t “see” who is hard at work by walking past them. This is even though hours worked, number of meetings, and other activity metrics have increased.
Whilst the pandemic saw a need for the remote work culture and the number of fully-remote jobs advertised on LinkedIn soared during that time, Microsoft Chief Executive Satya Nadella said that the latest data indicated that roles involving remote working may have declined. Before the pandemic only 2% of jobs involved remote working, a few months ago the number stood at 20% but it has since come down to 15%.
Several high profile companies have recently informed their staff that they are required to return to the office - Apple has insisted on office attendance three days a week from September, while Tesla boss Elon Musk has demanded 40 hours a week in the office sending an email saying: "If you don't show up, we will assume you have resigned."
Despite this, 73% of employees say they need a better reason to go into the office than just company expectations. The survey showed that connecting with colleagues is a key motivation for working in person, as 84% of employees would be motivated by the promise of socialising with co-workers. This is especially so with younger people who are keen to use the office to establish themselves as part of their workplace community and feel more connected to their co-workers.
The survey calls on flexibility as the way forward, calling it a “feature, not a fad”.
