Return to Office - Reduced Productivity

[Anathema]

I’m wondering if others are experiencing similar issues at work…

I work in an operation/engineering support department for a major electric utility company here in the Northeast.

For the last two years we’ve been working from home. After we de-centralized in March of 2020, our department’s productivity and efficiency increased markedly. In the last month we have been forced to return to the office one day a week, which will increase to two days a week within the next month. They claim it won’t exceed that, but I have my doubts.

In the four weeks we’ve been back in the office part-time, department productivity and efficiency have dropped. Not quite to pre-pandemic levels, but we’re definitely not at full WFH efficiency anymore.

can anyone explain to me why a company would prefer to have us work less efficiently and productively? They claim it has to do with allowing for more efficient collaboration between groups, morale building, etc… None of that applies to us. I just don’t get it.

 

[Manonthestreet]

 

[Toro]

I’m wondering if others are experiencing similar issues at work…

I work in an operation/engineering support department for a major electric utility company here in the Northeast.

For the last two years we’ve been working from home. After we de-centralized in March of 2020, our department’s productivity and efficiency increased markedly. In the last month we have been forced to return to the office one day a week, which will increase to two days a week within the next month. They claim it won’t exceed that, but I have my doubts.

In the four weeks we’ve been back in the office part-time, department productivity and efficiency have dropped. Not quite to pre-pandemic levels, but we’re definitely not at full WFH efficiency anymore.

can anyone explain to me why a company would prefer to have us work less efficiently and productively? They claim it has to do with allowing for more efficient collaboration between groups, morale building, etc… None of that applies to us. I just don’t get it.

We're having that same debate. We've been back to work for some time. However, we never were more productive than we were when we were working from home. We did record numbers during the pandemic and everyone being on Zoom.

Though Zoom does suck.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

I imagine it comes down to the industry and specific role you are in. I've been working at home for years, long before the plague came. I would go into my office maybe once a week, but usually not for the whole day. Now, I'm probably go in quarterly, mainly to get any mail delivered to me there and maybe print out and file a few things.

 

[1srelluc]

LOL.....I love it, us retirees have the mid-morning streets to ourselves again.....And it gets better every-single-day as more peeps go back into work.

Look on the bright side, at least you will learn how humanity is again.

 

[Anathema]

We're having that same debate. We've been back to work for some time. However, we never were more productive than we were when we were working from home. We did record numbers during the pandemic and everyone being on Zoom.

Though Zoom does suck

Unfortunately for us this isn’t a debate. Upper management has made a decree and we are being forced to comply. Neither my Supervisor nor his Manager want to do this. Espinoza the multiple days portion of it.

We stopped using Zoom and now etilize Microsoft Teams. Still not a perfect product but far better than Zoom.

 

[Augustine_]

I’m wondering if others are experiencing similar issues at work…

I work in an operation/engineering support department for a major electric utility company here in the Northeast.

For the last two years we’ve been working from home. After we de-centralized in March of 2020, our department’s productivity and efficiency increased markedly. In the last month we have been forced to return to the office one day a week, which will increase to two days a week within the next month. They claim it won’t exceed that, but I have my doubts.

In the four weeks we’ve been back in the office part-time, department productivity and efficiency have dropped. Not quite to pre-pandemic levels, but we’re definitely not at full WFH efficiency anymore.

can anyone explain to me why a company would prefer to have us work less efficiently and productively? They claim it has to do with allowing for more efficient collaboration between groups, morale building, etc… None of that applies to us. I just don’t get it.

Our economic model depends on employers having great power over the lives of their employees. Work from home is a threat to that.

 

[Anathema]

I imagine it comes down to the industry and specific role you are in

We’ve been asking to WFH for years. They always denied it. Now we have verifiable proof that it can work and they still don’t want to accept it. Even when it would actually seem to be in their best interests. They need more desks in the office I work at for people who will be relocating from an office they’re closing, but they’re forcing us back anyway.,

 

[Mr Natural]

The worst part of going to work is the actual going to the office and coming back home. The 5 or 6 hours you might spend doing actual work is the easy part.

When you work from home, you can spread the normal 8 hours over 12 -16 or so. And if you get a brainstorm at 10 PM, you can act on it.

 

[citygator]

I’m wondering if others are experiencing similar issues at work…

I work in an operation/engineering support department for a major electric utility company here in the Northeast.

For the last two years we’ve been working from home. After we de-centralized in March of 2020, our department’s productivity and efficiency increased markedly. In the last month we have been forced to return to the office one day a week, which will increase to two days a week within the next month. They claim it won’t exceed that, but I have my doubts.

In the four weeks we’ve been back in the office part-time, department productivity and efficiency have dropped. Not quite to pre-pandemic levels, but we’re definitely not at full WFH efficiency anymore.

can anyone explain to me why a company would prefer to have us work less efficiently and productively? They claim it has to do with allowing for more efficient collaboration between groups, morale building, etc… None of that applies to us. I just don’t get it.

Really good observations. Home allows for productivity but is bad for collaboration, developing leaders, building some engagement. Creates a transactional organization. I think old school leaders simply don’t trust having people work from home.

Having said that it’ll be interesting. We went from all remote to 3 work 2 home days and had some turnover as people left for full remote roles. Employees are gaining some power so we will see how the workplace evolves.

 

[Anathema]

Look on the bright side, at least you will learn how humanity is again.

Lol. I don’t like people. That’s part of why I enjoy the WFH model so much.

Even if I did, on the three days I’ve been in the office so far, there have never been more than 4 people (outside my department) in the office with us. There are almost 50 desks in that office. Pre-pandemic those cubes were filled every day. Where are the people from the other departments? They’re supposedly under the same 2-3 day a week mandate we are.

 

[Toro]

Unfortunately for us this isn’t a debate. Upper management has made a decree and we are being forced to comply. Neither my Supervisor nor his Manager want to do this. Espinoza the multiple days portion of it.

We stopped using Zoom and now etilize Microsoft Teams. Still not a perfect product but far better than Zoom.

When I said "debate," I meant to say "Our boss said we all have to come back into the office."

 

[Anathema]

Our economic model depends on employers having great power over the lives of their employees. Work from home is a threat to that.

Not so much. We’re Union employees. Our job doesn’t change in the office or out.

 

[Anathema]

The worst part of going to work is the actual going to the office and coming back home. The 5 or 6 hours you might spend doing actual work is the easy part.

When you work from home, you can spread the normal 8 hours over 12 -16 or so. And if you get a brainstorm at 10 PM, you can act on it.

LOL. Yes, the commute is the worst part of the day. 2.5 hours in the car on top of a 10 hour workday.

we have set schedules, in or out of the office.

 

[Anathema]

Really good observations. Home allows for productivity but is bad for collaboration, developing leaders, building some engagement. Creates a transactional organization. I think old school leaders simply don’t trust having people work from home

Thanks for the compliment.

We don’t really “collaborate” much. We get work in through an online submission system. We make the changes, additions, updates to the systems we control, and we complete the requests. We have exceptional minimal contact with individuals outside the department, regardless of where we work from. When we do it’s by email, IM, or (rarely) phone.

 

[Augustine_]

Not so much. We’re Union employees. Our job doesn’t change in the office or out.

I wonder what your state and field are. Congrats on being part of a union, but it doesn't change that our economic model is dependent on employers having control over the living conditions of their workers.

 

[Anathema]

I wonder what your state and field are. Congrats on being part of a union, but it doesn't change that our economic model is dependent on employers having control over the living conditions of their workers.

I work in the electric utility industry here in Central/Southern New England. I work in a mapping/engineering support department. We joined the Union in 2007 as part of a larger unionization of professional employees in the company.

mine of the things we’ve determined over the last two years is that our job is almost exactly the same regardless of whether we’re in the office or at home. Our productivity improved at home. Is it really in an employer’s interests to make a department less efficient and possibly lose senior members of the department to exert that “control”?

 

[Augustine_]

I work in the electric utility industry here in Central/Southern New England. I work in a mapping/engineering support department. We joined the Union in 2007 as part of a larger unionization of professional employees in the company.

mine of the things we’ve determined over the last two years is that our job is almost exactly the same regardless of whether we’re in the office or at home. Our productivity improved at home. Is it really in an employer’s interests to make a department less efficient and possibly lose senior members of the department to exert that “control”?

You're asking the wrong person. If your company loses senior members over this and hires younger ones for a fraction of the salary, that's a win for them. The younger ones will have no savings, and no means to access healthcare without the employer. They are more controllable.

 

[Magnus]

I’m wondering if others are experiencing similar issues at work…

I work in an operation/engineering support department for a major electric utility company here in the Northeast.

For the last two years we’ve been working from home. After we de-centralized in March of 2020, our department’s productivity and efficiency increased markedly. In the last month we have been forced to return to the office one day a week, which will increase to two days a week within the next month. They claim it won’t exceed that, but I have my doubts.

In the four weeks we’ve been back in the office part-time, department productivity and efficiency have dropped. Not quite to pre-pandemic levels, but we’re definitely not at full WFH efficiency anymore.

can anyone explain to me why a company would prefer to have us work less efficiently and productively? They claim it has to do with allowing for more efficient collaboration between groups, morale building, etc… None of that applies to us. I just don’t get it.

It's simple. Companies have paid for office space. They hate to see that go empty.

 

[whitehall]

There are no statistics regarding working at home vs productivity because it might impact public opinion about the covid restrictions and the administration.