Amazon and the UK government seem to be at odds over where employees should work. Amazon has decided to call its workers back to the office full-time, while the UK government is focusing on giving people the right to choose flexible work, including working from home. So, who’s right? Should people be heading back to the office, or is working from home just as effective?

Amazon Wants Office Work

Amazon believes that having its employees back in the office will help them “invent, collaborate, and stay connected.” The company says that being physically present makes it easier for people to come up with new ideas and work closely together.

But this comes at a time when the UK government is talking about how flexible working, like working from home, could lead to a more productive, loyal workforce. They believe giving people the option to work from home could benefit both the employees and the companies they work for.

The Pandemic Changed Work

Before the pandemic, most people went to the office daily. But when Covid-19 hit, many had to switch to working from home. Over time, some workers found that they enjoyed the flexibility, while others missed the office environment. Now, four years after the start of the pandemic, we’re still debating which setup is better: the traditional office or the comfort of home.

What Does the Research Say?

One interesting study by Microsoft looked at how employees worked during the pandemic. They examined emails, messages, and meeting schedules of 61,000 employees over six months in 2020. The study found that workers mainly communicated with people they already knew when working from home. They built fewer connections with new colleagues or other teams. There were also fewer face-to-face meetings, and instead, people sent more emails and messages. While this made communication easier for some tasks, it wasn’t always ideal for handling complex topics.

The study suggested that it can be harder to share and understand complicated information when working remotely. In other words, working from home might limit how well people can collaborate on challenging projects.

UK Workers’ Preferences

So, how do workers feel about this debate? A survey in the UK asked workers about their work habits in the last week. Around 42% of people said they only worked in the office, 13% worked only from home, and 27% used a mix of both, also known as hybrid working. The number of people doing hybrid work has gone up since 2021, while the number of people working from home full-time has dropped.

Does the Office Improve Collaboration?

Amazon is not alone in wanting workers back in the office. Other major companies are doing the same, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Tesla, and SpaceX. These companies argue that people work better together when they’re in the same place. For example, David Solomon, the head of Goldman Sachs, even called working from home an “aberration.” He strongly believes that employees need to be in the office to perform well.

Do Workers Agree?

However, not everyone agrees with Amazon’s stance. In 2020, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) surveyed 1,000 senior decision-makers in various organizations. While one-third of them said they struggled with less face-to-face interaction, more than 40% believed that people actually collaborated better when working from home.

So, while many companies are pushing for in-office work, some evidence suggests that working from home might boost collaboration and productivity for some employees.

A Look at Productivity

To dive deeper into the question of productivity, let’s look at China’s largest travel agency, CTrip. In 2010, CTrip ran an experiment. They allowed around 250 workers in their booking department to work from home. Half of them stayed at the office, while the other half worked remotely.

The results were surprising: the people working from home were 13% more productive. Why? The study suggested it was because they took fewer breaks and sick days, and they could make more phone calls since their homes were quieter than the office. Also, employees who worked from home reported being happier with their jobs, and fewer of them quit.

But the home workers in this experiment weren’t completely isolated – they came into the office one day a week. This mix of working from home and office time might have helped them feel connected while still enjoying the benefits of remote work.

Communication Challenges

However, remote work isn’t perfect. There are some downsides to working from home full-time. Researchers from Stanford University found that completely remote workers can experience up to a 10% drop in productivity compared to those who work in the office all the time. Remote workers often face communication barriers, miss out on mentorship opportunities, and find it harder to build a sense of work culture. Also, some people struggle with staying motivated when they’re away from the office.

The Case for Hybrid Working

Given the pros and cons of both office and home working, many companies are considering hybrid work as a solution. Hybrid working allows employees to split their time between the office and home. This approach seems to give workers the best of both worlds – the chance to collaborate with coworkers in person while also enjoying the flexibility and comfort of working from home.