What do you want to know
- Remote work has become popular following the global shutdowns of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- There is a debate between workers and their employees about the impact of working from home on productivity.
- Many studies suggest that working from home increases productivity, but Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says many bosses aren’t convinced.
Working from home is possibly the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I no longer have to eat away at my income coughing up money for increasingly expensive public transport, I no longer have to cut into my free time with massive commutes, I no longer have to wear a pants during meetings. I don’t really have a break from emails, meetings, Slack messages and beyond…oh, well. I digress.
After the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic, a major culture shift has occurred when it comes to office work. With the rise of internet infrastructure and cloud-based services, it is increasingly illogical for many roles to be performed on-premises, although debate rages on whether or not this leads to an increase or a decrease in productivity.
In a recent report (opens in a new tab) in Changing Workplace Attitudes, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explained why some bosses are skeptical of the work-from-home culture, and also why they’re wrong to be.
“We need to get past what we call ‘productivity paranoia’ because all the data we have shows that over 80% of people feel very productive – except that their management thinks they’re not productive. This means there’s a real disconnect in terms of expectations and how they feel.”
Nadella is referring to a large survey conducted throughout his organization on working from home. 87% of Microsoft employees feel more productive when working from home, while 80% of Microsoft’s managerial layer believe workers are less productive. Nadella also noted that before the pandemic, only 2% of open positions on LinkedIn included remote work, but since the pandemic, that amount has increased to 20%.
Companies like Tesla, Google and Apple have been aggressive in trying to bring their office population back into the office. It has been reported that companies like Apple could actually lose major talent, due to its stance of forcing its engineers and developers back into offices.
Microsoft data suggests workers in the so-called “Gen-Z” bracket are the most likely to change jobs, with 90% of LinkedIn-connected Gen Z employees changing roles in one form or another during the term. of the pandemic. Microsoft is exploring new products to meet the expectations of young workers, who are increasingly transitioning from education to full-time employment as the years go by. One such product is the Microsoft Viva above, which is essentially another work-focused social network joining Microsoft’s other products like LinkedIn and Yammer, albeit with a potentially more modernized twist.
Microsoft’s current work-from-home policy allows up to 50% of employees’ time to work remotely, with more than 50% subject to management approval.
