According to research by Vodafone U.K., 40% of those surveyed said they have been more productive since they started working from home in March.
Of course they say that. Me, personally, I've been about 110.2% more productive over that same time frame. (If you have coached youth sports, you always want your athletes to "give it 110%" and "play the cards we've been dealt.") How did I accomplish this, you may ask? First off, I have been working from home for about 15 years. During that stretch, I have pioneered several key principles for productivity.
The first is that going on the back deck to briefly cogitate can lead to things like weeding the garden or playing fetch with the dog. I don't go out on the back deck anymore, in order to be more productive.
Vodafone's survey of 1,003 small business employees also found that 25% of the workers contributed to their local economies by frequenting coffee shops and cafes each day. Thinking you will be more productive at a coffee shop instead of your home office is a fool's errand. We go to coffee shops and cafes to be seen "working," because the home Wi-Fi is down, or because someone else is buying lunch.
The survey also found that 40% of the employees working from home put in an average of 642 additional hours, which translates to 26 extra days, since the lockdowns began in March. Work smarter, not longer, people!
The survey results also said 60% of the WFH employees were now working during the time that they would normally be commuting. Not commuting through snarled traffic means sleeping in longer, which in turns leads to more productivity.
The survey also said that 61% of the respondents don't mind picking up tasks any time of the day. I'm not sure what that means, but just stay in the home office and don't try to do your work propped up in the bedroom, at the kitchen table or on the back deck.
Vodafone U.K. provided the survey results as a means to get small business to sign up for a new broadband package. It wasn't really trying to help you look more effective as a legionnaire in the WFH army.
You might ask why I didn't provide such timely WFH tips during the onset of the pandemic? To which I would probably say: "I was too busy playing fetch with my dog in the upstairs bedroom." Enjoy Labor Day— Mike
Editor's Corners are opinion columns written by a member of the Fierce editorial team. They are edited for balance and accuracy.