Those who read my posts regularly will know that I am not a believer in any positive productivity effects of working from home. It van help but only if the organisation is able to save substantial accommodation costs on workspaces that are no longer needed - and this applies to very few companies who normally 'hedge their bets' by maintaining their properties snd only saving on lower energy costs.
I have been reflecting on this and though I have not changed my opinion, I do feel that perhaps I have been over-critical of those who have allowed employees to work from hime. It may be that there is nothing inherently or philosophically wrong with home working. The problem is that most organisations have management teams - and management training processes - which assume 'normal' in-the-workplace environments and systems and processes. In practice, they need to adjust workflows - and perhaps working methods, communication processes and reporting processes to fit the new environment
Otherwise, processes fail, become inefficient or error-prone. This is clearly not a recipe for productivity improvement.
So, by all means let employees work from home - if you think it has benefits in employee well-being or in cost-saving. But ensure your working and communication processes are adjusted to suit the new arrangement.
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