HBR Blog Network

Working from Home: A Work in Progress

by Teresa Amabile and Steve Kramer | 8:00 AM July 24, 2013
 Comments (16)
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It's now been about six weeks since all Yahoo! employees had to start
showing up at the Internet giant's offices every day. The company-
confidential but widely circulated memo that banned telecommuting
stressed the importance of physical proximity for preserving the creative
culture that new CEO Marissa Mayer had been trying to build. Many
commentators criticized Mayer for limiting her employees' autonomy and
stated that she didn't trust them. Whatever the intention — and ultimate
effects — of Mayer's new rule, it sparked fiery debates about the merits and
drawbacks of the upward trend in working from home. New data that we
recently collected add fuel to the flames.

For several weeks earlier this year, we collected daily electronic diaries from
the employees of the HR department in a New York bank. Although we
weren't looking for it, one particularly interesting pattern popped out of the
data: strongly positive comments from employees on the occasional days
that they worked from home. Again and again, we saw people writing about
how refreshing it was to be freed from office distractions and to have the
opportunity to catch up on work. On our end-of-study survey, we asked
directly how they felt about working from home. The response was
overwhelmingly positive. Of particular interest to us, participants felt that
they made more progress when they worked from home. The reasons they
cited included increased focus, greater creativity, saved time that would
otherwise have been spent commuting, and feeling relaxed and comfortable.
During the study, we also collected daily self-report ratings from each person
on several emotion measures. Ratings for most of these items were the same

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for days at the office and days at home, except for frustration. Our
participants consistently rated their frustration with the work lower when
they worked from home.

Our past research found that, of all the events that can keep people happily
engaged on the job, the single most important is making progress in
meaningful work. So, if working remotely leads people to feel more
positive and make more progress, that's a pretty powerful endorsement.
Other research fits with our findings. It seems that, in general,
people like working from home. They appreciate the ability to schedule their
lives around their work rather than the other way around - and some may
even value this flexibility more than career advancement. Moreover, being
alone helps some people avoid the frustrations and annoyances of office life.
A study by Stanford researchers revealed significant differences between
call center employees in a Chinese company who were randomly assigned to
work from home for nine months and those who were not. Not only were the
work-from-homers more productive than their non-remote peers, but they
were also more satisfied with their job and less likely to leave. Brand
new research similarly points to the importance of flexible work
arrangements for attracting and retaining the most talented employees. In a
survey of over 700 MBA grads, Catalyst discovered that those whose firms
had flexible work arrangements were more likely to aspire to senior positions
at their companies than those working at less flexible firms.

Of course, there's a catch. The participants in our study, like those in the
Chinese call center study, were doing work of an inherently independent
nature, and much of it was rather repetitive; there was little need for
collaboration and little room for creativity. Forcing employees into the office
could be very important if the success of your company is largely dependent
on the frequent exchange of novel ideas between workers. A recent Gallup
report showed that remote workers were more engaged than on-site workers,
but emphasized that working remotely was best in moderation. Only the
remote workers who spent less than 20% of their time working from home
were more engaged; remote workers who spent almost all of their time
working from home had the same level of engagement as on-site workers.
Keep in mind that the people we studied in that New York bank worked from
home only occasionally; for the vast majority, it was fewer than eight days
spread out over eight weeks. Also keep in mind that working at home can
have its own distractions. In onesurvey by Citrix (a Florida company that
designs technology for employees to work remotely), a quarter of employees
even admitted to having an alcoholic beverage while working from home.

The bottom line is that working at home makes a lot of sense for some
people and some kinds of work. Although our research and other studies
suggest that employees and employers alike can benefit from
BEC – Business & English Courses – Contabilidad, Inglés y Portugués
by Silvia Alejandra Suárez // www.becinstitute.weebly.com // 15-5165-8750
telecommuting, Marissa Mayer's report-to-work order may still prove
appropriate for Yahoo's employees because of the creative, collaborative
nature of the work they do.

BEC – Business & English Courses – Contabilidad, Inglés y Portugués

by Silvia Alejandra Suárez // www.becinstitute.weebly.com // 15-5165-8750
 HBR Blog Network

Working from Home: A Work in Progress

by Teresa Amabile and Steve Kramer | 8:00 AM July 24, 2013

It (be / now) _______________ about six weeks since all Yahoo! employees (have)
_______________ to start showing up at the Internet giant's offices every day.
The company-confidential but widely circulated memo that banned
telecommuting (stress) _______________ the importance of physical proximity
for (preserve) _______________ the creative culture that new CEO Marissa Mayer
(try) _______________ to build. Many commentators (criticize) _______________
Mayer for (limit) _______________ her employees' autonomy and (state)
_______________ that she (not trust) _______________ them. Whatever the intention
— and ultimate effects — of Mayer's new rule, it (spark) _______________ fiery
debates about the merits and drawbacks of the upward trend in (work)
_______________ from home. New data that we (recently collect) _______________
add fuel to the flames.

For several weeks earlier this year, we (collect) _______________ daily electronic
diaries from the employees of the HR department in a New York bank.
Although we (not look) _______________ for it, one particularly interesting
pattern (pop) _______________ out of the data: strongly positive comments from
employees on the occasional days that they (work) _______________ from home.
Again and again, we (see) _______________ people writing about how refreshing
it was to be freed from office distractions and to have the opportunity to
catch up on work. On our end-of-study survey, we (ask) _______________ directly
how they (feel) _______________ about (work) _______________ from home. The
response (be) _______________ overwhelmingly positive. Of particular interest to
us, participants (feel) _______________ that they (make) _______________ more
progress when they (work) _______________ from home. The reasons they (give)
_______________ included increased focus, greater creativity, saved time that
would otherwise have been spent commuting, and feeling relaxed and
comfortable. During the study, we also (collect) _______________ daily self-
report ratings from each person on several emotion measures. Ratings for
most of these items (be) _______________ the same for days at the office and
days at home, except for frustration. Our participants consistently (rate)
BEC – Business & English Courses – Contabilidad, Inglés y Portugués
by Silvia Alejandra Suárez // www.becinstitute.weebly.com // 15-5165-8750
_______________ their frustration with the work lower when they worked from
home.

Our past research (find) _______________ that, of all the events that can keep
people happily engaged on the job, the single most important is making
progress in meaningful work. So, if working remotely leads people (feel)
_______________ more positive and make more progress, that is a powerful
endorsement. Other research (fit) _______________ with our findings. It (seem)
_______________ that, in general, people (like) _______________ (work)
_______________ from home. They (appreciate) _______________ the ability to
schedule their lives around their work rather than the other way around - and
some may even (value) _______________ this flexibility more than career
advancement. Moreover, being alone (help) _______________ some people avoid
the frustrations and annoyances of office life. A study by Stanford
researchers (reveal) _______________ significant differences between call
center employees in a Chinese company who (randomly assign)
_______________ to work from home for nine months and those who (not be)
_______________. Not only were the work-from-homers more productive than
their non-remote peers, but they (be) _______________ also more satisfied with
their job and less likely (leave) _______________. Brand new research similarly
points to the importance of flexible work arrangements for (attract)
_______________ and (retain) _______________ the most talented employees. In a
survey of over 700 MBA grads, Catalyst (discover) _______________ that those
whose firms (have) _______________ flexible work arrangements (be)
_______________ more likely (aspire) _______________ to senior positions at their
companies than those working at less flexible firms.

Of course, there (be) _______________ a catch. The participants in our study, like
those in the Chinese call center study, (do) _______________ work of an
inherently independent nature, and much of it was rather repetitive; there
(be) _______________ little need for collaboration and little room for
creativity. Forcing employees into the office could be very important if the
success of your company is largely dependent on the frequent exchange of
novel ideas between workers. A recent Gallup report (show) _______________
that remote workers (be) _______________ more engaged than on-site workers,
but (emphasize) _______________ that working remotely was best in moderation.
Only the remote workers who (spend) _______________ less than 20% of their
time working from home (be) _______________ more engaged; remote workers
who (spend) _______________ almost all of their time working from home (have)
_______________ the same level of engagement as on-site workers. Keep in mind
that the people we (study) _______________ in that New York bank (work)
_______________ from home only occasionally; for the vast majority, it (be)
_______________ fewer than eight days spread out over eight weeks. Also, keep
in mind that working at home can have its own distractions. In one survey by

BEC – Business & English Courses – Contabilidad, Inglés y Portugués

by Silvia Alejandra Suárez // www.becinstitute.weebly.com // 15-5165-8750
Citrix (a Florida company that (design) _______________ technology for
employees to work remotely), a quarter of employees even (admit)
_______________ to having an alcoholic beverage while working from home.

The bottom line is that working at home (make) _______________ a lot of sense
for some people and some kinds of work. Although our research and other
studies (suggest) _______________ that employees and employers alike can
benefit from telecommuting, Marissa Mayer's report-to-work order may still
prove appropriate for Yahoo's employees because of the creative,
collaborative nature of the work they (do) _______________.

BEC – Business & English Courses – Contabilidad, Inglés y Portugués

by Silvia Alejandra Suárez // www.becinstitute.weebly.com // 15-5165-8750