Telecommuting amid COVID-19 pandemic may generate productivity slump: expert

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail Xinhua, April 2, 2020
Adjust font size:

SAN FRANCISCO, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The global work-from-home movement intended to maintain output and efficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic could actually generate a worldwide productivity slump and threaten economic growth for many years, according to an economist with Stanford University.

"We are home working alongside our kids, in unsuitable spaces, with no choice and no in-office days. This will create a productivity disaster for firms," Nicholas Bloom, a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), said in his report published on the university's website on Monday.

Bloom published a co-authored paper earlier, extolling the benefits of working from home. That research was based on a randomized control trial on 1,000 employees of Ctrip, a Chinese travel company. The experiment revealed that working from home during a nine-month period led to a 13 percent increase in performance plus a 50 percent drop in employee-quit rates. But his new report shows the situation amid the coronavirus crisis is completely different due to four factors: children, space, privacy and choice.

The closure of schools and transition to "distance learning" for students have forced many working parents to take on additional care for their children. One requirement for a successful work-from-home program for any business is that children are in school or daycare. "Working from home with your children is a productivity disaster," Bloom said.

Bloom's analysis of Ctrip also took into account the fact that the home office could not be a bedroom, and nobody else was allowed into the room during the workday. Many people are now working in their bedrooms or share common rooms and their work can be easily interrupted by roommates, according to the report.

In-person collaboration is also necessary to keep staff motivated and focused on creativity and innovation. "I fear this collapse in-office face time will lead to a slump in innovation," he said, adding that "the new ideas we are losing today could show up as fewer new products in 2021 and beyond, lowering long-run growth."

The element of personal choice is a final factor contributing to the success of Ctrip's work-from-home policy that is absent in the current situation. An extended period of working from home will not only kill office productivity but is building a mental health crisis, the report said.

Bloom also suggested that several measures may be taken to help stem the productivity decline: Regular check-ins between managers and their teams; maintaining schedules that strive to separate work life from family life, and collaborating with colleagues on video calls rather than phone calls. Enditem

Follow China.org.cn on Twitter and Facebook to join the conversation.
ChinaNews App Download
Print E-mail Bookmark and Share

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)

No comments.

Add your comments...

  • User Name Required
  • Your Comment
  • Enter the words you see:   
    Racist, abusive and off-topic comments may be removed by the moderator.
Send your storiesGet more from China.org.cnMobileRSSNewsletter