Employers need to establish whether workers are socially and psychologically suited to working from home to take full advantage of flexibility benefits.
Research by the London School of Economics and Political Science has found that employees who work from home are more productive than their office-bound colleagues. It said less distraction, gratitude for flexibility and time saved on commuting raises their productivity.
In addition, flexible working can play to individual workers’ strengths. Dr Alexandra Beauregard from the LSE’s department of management said: “If people are night owls and their employer is happy for them to work at home from 10pm through to 5am, this can work to the company’s benefit. It just depends on the role and the level of personal interaction needed with their colleagues and the public.”
She cautioned that working from home does not suit everyone. “The happiest employees are those who can work partially from home and partially in the office. They report the highest levels of work/life satisfaction because they can juggle personal responsibilities yet are not socially isolated.”
However, this arrangement works less well with extroverts, who prefer the social interaction of the office. Beauregard said employers should develop a tool to establish their employees’ suitability for working from home.
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Categories: homeworking, News
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