Has WFH Productivity Actually Held Up?

Nobody knows for certain how productivity might be affected, for different companies, industries and countries, as the enforced work from home policies stay in place. In the short term, as “everybody has to do it,” many studies have suggested an unexpected ability to maintain former output levels. 

What is not clear is how and what might change as the WFH period lengthens, and as firms make different strategic choices once the mandatory WFH period eventually ends. 

The point is that, with time, reader fatigue, Zoom fatigure, work from home burnout and lower productivity now are starting up show up, raising questions about whether permanent work from home policies will be as widespread--or useful--as many predict. 

And despite many claims that WFH productivity has been remarkably high, worker perception of their own productivity is not so clear. To be sure, near-universal WFH in office settings means no firm inherently benefits or loses. So far, since “everyone” has to do it, there appears no systematic advantage gained or lost.

All that will change when the Covid-19 pandemic winds down (because we have vaccines and most people take the vaccines, or herd immunity is gained). Then, WFH will be an option firms can choose, and the advantages and disadvantages might be accrued non-linearly by different firms. 

Also, WFH productivity in some pre-pandemic settings suggests WFH productivity is markedly lower than at the office work. Some early studies of WFH productivity also suggest productivity has dropped. 

That argument might puzzle some. The issue is the amount of useful work getting done, compared to the time spent to achieve those results. By definition, if the same results are obtained, but the time to create those results has increased, productivity is lower. 

Most studies of “productivity” during the pandemic WFH period essentially argue that firms aer able to produce the same results, even when most people are working remotely. What those studies sometimes neglect is the fact that many--if not most--of those at-home employees are putting in longer hours. By definition, then, we have “same results, more hours worked.” So productivity is lower, in that sense.