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Key points
- The Covid-induced move to remote work has surprisingly led to increased productivity from many employees working from home.
- Employees should assess whether they are prone to "workaholism."
- Employees can manage remote work by setting boundaries, taking breaks, and not being on-call.
The Covid-19 pandemic created a mass migration to working online and from home. As a result, the percentage of remote workers moved from about 6 percent to more than five times that. Experts would have imagined that this move of so many employees working from home would have led to a large decrease in productivity, but contrary to expectations, average worker productivity increased sharply. What happened?
Simply put, on average, employees were doing more. Whether that was increasing their hours working from home (beyond what they would have done during a normal workday), or simply having less distractions (or both). One worker who moved from in-the-office to remote work told me that she was working longer days because she worked during the hours she would have been normally commuting to and from the office
Another Covid-induced remote worker said that he was trying to "do more" to prove to his boss that working from home was not hurting his productivity. He mentioned that he combined working and eating lunch at his laptop, and that he even took the laptop into the bathroom!
These comments reminded me of an informal assessment to determine if you are a workaholic. This includes items like taking work into the bathroom, and working at all hours of the day and night, as well as striving to over-perform. (See a self-assessment for workaholism here.)
How to Work Remotely and Prevent Workaholism
Set Boundaries: Set boundaries for you and for the people you live with. That means when you are working from home, create an environment that is conducive to you working without distractions.
- Let others in the home know that when you are working, you are not to be interrupted.
- Set up a workstation in the home and only do work there.
- Set regular working hours and try not to go beyond those.
Take Regular Breaks: Take time to relax, to eat meals, exercise, meditate, and socialize with coworkers (you can set up remote happy hours) or family members.
Don’t Be On-Call: Unless your normal work routine required you to be available in the evening hours, don’t fall into the trap of being on call and doing work at all hours.
Even by limiting your working time, allowing for breaks and needed interruptions, most remote workers find that they are more productive at home than in the office.
