Working From Home: More or Less Productive?

Whether you call it working from home or just “wfh,” you’re probably familiar with the concept of doing your job away from the office by now. The pandemic showed us that a lot of jobs can actually be conducted remotely, and that there are real benefits to working from home. 

But are we truly more productive when we work from home? Or do we need some time in the office to get away from common “wfh distractions” — kids, chores, TV and the like?

It’s not really all that black and white. Depending on what works best for you, here’s how to lead a fulfilling career no matter where you work. 

Working from home vs. at work: Multitasking 

It’s a common misconception that people are able to multitask. In fact, our brains can’t function that way, except for a few extraordinary individuals who can grasp the concept of parallel processing. For the rest of us… we’re stuck either folding laundry, or getting sucked into whatever TV rerun is playing in the background. We’re not doing both at once. 

That means that, for most of us, interruptions severely limit our ability to get work done. In fact, according to a study conducted by the University of California, Irvine, it takes the brain about 23 minutes(!) to refocus after experiencing a distraction. So, losing a moment to interruption is more detrimental than we often think. 

Now, let’s turn to a wfh or office environment. Which one creates more distractions for you? Depending on your situation, it could be either. Some of us work in offices where our colleagues are always walking up and asking questions at inopportune times. Others work in a heads-down office environment that promotes efficiency. And still others work in an office where back-to-back meetings prevent people from getting anything done. 

An at-home environment can be just as tough. Most of us aren’t working in a vacuum — kids, pets, roommates, friends, spouses, visitors and chores can all get in the way of our focus. 

So, when it comes to deciding where you’re really more productive, ask yourself: where do I get interrupted less often? Where am I able to focus the most?

Working from home vs. work: Structure

Another huge hit to our productivity comes in the form of too much, or too little, structure. When there’s too much structure in our lives, we crave a break from it. We look for ways to escape from the structure of our days in order to relax and “un-fry” our brains.

Too little structure, however, is also not the goal. Too little structure invites procrastination. Think about it: have you ever had a fully open day where you couldn’t wait to get your entire to-do list done? Chances are you didn’t cross off everything on your list. When we have “unlimited” time to get things done, we don’t start the job with any urgency. 

So, creating a sense of structure is necessary to make sure we stay productive, while overly structuring our lives creates burnout and fatigue. Think about which environment will help you stay structured: is it a wfh setting, or an office?

Working from home vs. at work: Accountability 

You might be seeing a pattern… determining which work environment is better really comes down to where you’re more productive, not where you are.  

With that said, the ASTD Handbook for Measuring and Evaluating Training notes that committing to someone that you’re going to get something done increases your accountability by 65%, while having an “accountability appointment” with someone you’ve committed to raises that number to a staggering 95%. 

This means that holding yourself accountable by working alongside someone else to achieve your goals is a fast way to get things done. 

Committing to a colleague can happen from anywhere — whether you’re working from home or working from work. So, ask yourself: where can I find accountability in my day-to-day life? Is it at work, or at home?

Working from home vs. at work: Deadlines

We all know deadlines drive productivity, but not all deadlines are created equal. 

Simply put, we can’t all have 10-12 priorities at once. We can hardly maintain 3-4. Our best bet is to put three big goals at the top of our to-do list, and create deadlines related to those activities and tasks. 

It’s also important to track those tasks and activities in real-time so that we feel a sense of achievement as we accomplish the items on our list. Doing so will not only help us stay inspired to finish the job, but it’ll help us make more realistic deadlines for future projects, too. 

Think about where you set the best deadlines. Does working from home get in the way of making concrete deadlines? Or does the office feel like a place where deadlines are too pressuring, and you’d be able to push back more if you started a wfh schedule?

The verdict: work where you’re most productive

Despite the ubiquity of the “working from home versus at work” debate, the truth is, we’re not really having the right conversation. As it turns out, our productivity is less about the physical space in which we work, and more about the specific drivers that make us efficient. 

Where can you complete tasks in rapid succession? Where do you get structure without getting burnt out? Where can you hold yourself accountable? Where can you meet deadlines? 

We’ll leave you with a final consideration: it might just be that both places are right for you. A hybrid work schedule can solve a lot of problems that working entirely from home or entirely at work can’t. With the combined power of a wfh schedule and occasional in-office visits, you might be able to increase your productivity dramatically.

Need more wfh/work-at-work advice? You’re in luck, because we’ve got a whole podcast episode on the subject. Listen as Ann Gomez, Founder of Clear Concept Inc. and author of Workday Warrior, shares the benefits of each scenario, as well as how to build a routine, be more productive, and concentrate on core priorities.