Millions are more productive while working from home, study finds

Employees have also prioritised learning new skills during lockdown

Could more working from home solve the UK’s productivity problem? (iStock)

More than half of workers (58 per cent) have reported that they have been more productive while working from home, according to a new survey.

The study – from internet provider Talk Talk – has also found that bosses agree that working remotely has had a positive impact on the working day, and on their employees.

When employers  (directors, senior executives or business owners) were asked what unexpected benefits had been provided by working from home, 30 per cent reported that their teams have been more productive, while 35 per cent said they had been more collaborative.

While the issue of whether workers should return to the office is hotly debated due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, research suggests that businesses can be successfully run from the comfort of employers’ and employees’ homes.

Tristia Harrison, chief executive at Talk Talk, has even suggested that our productivity levels are so high, that we can achieve a week’s worth of work in four days.

“With flexible working we’re becoming so much more productive it seems that Britain is now getting five days’ work done in four, which is encouraging as Britain builds back from the crisis,” she said.

On top of getting their work done during a global health emergency, almost a quarter of workers (24 per cent) reported that they had started to learn a language over lockdown, while more than a fifth (22 per cent) worked on their cooking, 15 per cent brushed up on their baking and 13 per cent to gardening.

Working from home (Getty Images)

However, concerns have been raised that young people need face-to-face office time in order to progress. Training, development and welfare have been cited as elements of employees’ working lives – particularly those who have just joined the workforce – that are better nurtured better in an office environment.

“Learning face to face in the workplace is an unbeatable way to build skills and confidence. We must not deprive the next generation of this opportunity,” argues Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry.