Remote work doesn't negatively affect productivity, study suggests

A research team from the Texas A&M University School of Public Health found that the opportunity for employees to work remotely during natural disasters and other events may enhance the company's resilience.

The team consisted of Kamrie Sarnosky, Mark Benden, Garett Sansom, Leslie Cizmas, and Annette Regan, who worked with a large oil and gas company in Houston, Texas, to analyze ergonomics data from hundreds of employees. The company had to close its offices because of flooding from Hurricane Harvey, which required employees to work remotely for an extended period.

During and after Hurricane Harvey, the researchers looked at employee technology data. During the seven-month period of working remotely, work behaviors returned to pre-hurricane levels, despite a decline in total computer use. The finding suggests that remote work doesn't affect productivity.

The study, which was published in February, offers important insights into information workers who have become increasingly used to and interested in working remotely as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Benden said that in the future there will be a greater percentage of the workforce who is involved in some sort of office-style technology work activities. This is a huge message for employers because we are having national debates about whether or not employees should be able to work remotely or in a hybrid schedule.

The ergonomics center is looking at the health of information workers. Information workers are more likely to get carpal tunnel syndrome if they work a certain way at a certain pace.

The Texas A&M researchers believe that this information can be used to inform corporate policies. They will be looking at the ergonomics of home offices. Tracking this type of data can help companies address remote employee health issues, including stress, depression and substance abuse.

The question was whether we could track people and instead of letting them stay in a bad place, a bad habit or bad behavior, could we remind them that it was time to take a walk or a break. In order to keep ourselves from hurting our bodies, we need to have reminders which people respond to and which work well.

Benden said that taking breaks does not affect the quality of work.

The people who took breaks were more productive. He said that they got more done.

More information: Kamrie Sarnosky et al, Impact of workplace displacement during a natural disaster on computer performance metrics: A 2-year interrupted time series analysis, Work (2022). DOI: 10.3233/WOR-210707 Citation: Remote work doesn't negatively affect productivity, study suggests (2022, May 6) retrieved 6 May 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-05-remote-doesnt-negatively-affect-productivity.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.