Previous surveys

There's no place like home

Our survey results indicate that less than half of us work most productively in the office, with over 40% feeling most productive when based at home. As the majority of people continue to spend their working days based in an office environment, the opportunity costs in terms of employee productivity are obvious. However, the solution can be harder to devise.

At the WIU we believe organisations should challenge themselves to offer the best aspects of both office and home environments for their employees. This requires first defining why people work more effectively at home or at work. Is it the ability to concentrate, to have access to particular tools, to collaborate with colleagues? Once the benefits of each environment are understood a decision can be made on how to deliver them to the workforce. It may be optimal to bring home characteristics into the office design, or to opt for a flexible working policy which allows home-working - the solution, like all workplace strategy, should be determined by the overall strategic objectives and cultural characteristics of the organisation.