This document discusses productivity and working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides data showing an increase in home working in the UK during the pandemic. Studies cited found that productivity generally stayed the same or increased while working from home during the pandemic, especially when collaborative remote working was utilized. However, challenges in managing remote workers could negatively impact productivity if not addressed. Lessons include the need for organizations to support employee well-being, interaction, and performance management for remote workers going forward.

1. Productivity and Working from Home
Dr Karen Bonner
Ulster University Economic Policy Centre
29th October 2020

2. https://www.cipd.co.uk/Community/blogs/b/scotland_the_blog/posts/working-from-home-in-scotland-a-permanent-shift
Working from Home Pre-Covid - Scotland

3. https://www.cipd.co.uk/Community/blogs/b/scotland_the_blog/posts/working-from-home-in-scotland-a-permanent-shift
Working from Home During Covid - Scotland

4. Existing and Intended Working from Home
September 2020 - UK
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
%ofBusinesses
Working from Home Permanent Increased Working from Home
Businesses who have not permanently stopped trading, broken down by industry, weighted by count, UK, 7 to 20 September 2020
Source: BICS Wave 14

5. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/productivity-gains-from-teleworking-in-the-post-covid-19-era-a5d52e99/
Relationship between Home Working and Productivity

6. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/productivity-gains-from-teleworking-in-the-post-covid-19-era-a5d52e99/
Pre-Covid Evidence…..

7. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/valuable-productivity-gains-covid-19
Remote Working and Productivity during Covid

8. https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/valuable-productivity-gains-covid-19
Collaborative Remote Working and Productivity during Covid

9. Remote Working and Productivity September 2020 - UK
Source: BICS Wave 14
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Productivity has increased Productivity has stayed the same Productivity has decreased Not sure
Question: How has the increase in homeworking affected the productivity of your workforce?
Percentage of businesses not permanently ceased trading and has had more staff working from home because of the pandemic, broken down by industry, weighted by count,
UK, 7 to 20 September 2020

10. Lessons for Leadership and Management
• Working from home or hybrid office-home working likely to become a permanent change for some businesses and sectors.
• Cost reductions (e.g. associated with maintaining office space) could free up resources for productivity-enhancing innovation
and reorganisation.
• But, challenges of managing home workers (CIPD):
 staff mental wellbeing
 staff interaction/co-operation
 line managing home workers
 monitoring staff performance
• To see improved productivity effects employee satisfaction must offset the potentially negative effects of communication,
knowledge flows and managerial oversight.
• ICT infrastructure must also be sufficient to facilitate knowledge and communication flows.
• Evidence of lower productivity impacts from collaborative working - satisfaction with social connectivity of colleagues essential
for improving collaborative productivity.

11. Thank you
For further details please visit :
www.enterpriseresearch.ac.uk
@ERC_Uk
Ka.bonner@ulster.ac.uk
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