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As Europe struggles with the second wave of the virus and faces a new round of lockdowns, governments and businesses must ask themselves whether people will cope with more restrictions as well as they have striven to do so far.
For many white-collar workers, the pandemic has already made remote work the new normal. But for all of its advantages, like saving on commuting time, there is also a price to pay — one that increases the longer we are out of the office and not able to meet others in person. Not only does virtual and distanced working risk loneliness, it is also bound to reduce on-the-job learning, creativity and innovation — all of which are often tied to serendipitous encounters.
The case for having people work from home, if they can, is relatively straightforward. Governments and businesses have a joint interest in containing outbreaks to keep the pandemic in check. Politicians want to relieve pressure from the healthcare system, while employers want to prevent disruptions to their workflow. Local authorities also want to limit the use of public transport to those who really need it. For employees, remote working means a smaller chance of catching the virus and spreading it to their own families.
The costs are harder to quantify. Several businesses simply can’t be run remotely. For occupations in which staying at home is an option, the impact on productivity remains an open question. A number of executives, such as Jamie Dimon at JPMorgan Chase & Co, had warned in September that efficiency was bound to suffer unless employees came back to the office. The evidence, however, is less negative: Although productivity for some businesses can suffer, employees seem to compensate for it by toiling longer hours. In some cases, efficiency actually increases when employees stay at home.
Unfortunately, lockdowns bring additional complications. For starters, when governments require most people to stay home, remote working is no longer a choice for one’s preferred work environment but an obligation. This becomes even more problematic when schools are also forced to close, as parents have to juggle work alongside taking care of their children and helping them with distance learning.
Another peril comes when compulsory work-from-home is protracted. For example, it may be relatively straightforward to carry on performing the same tasks you did in the office from your living room. But what about starting new tasks or improving processes, which at some point will need to happen? It becomes much harder to organise and innovate when people can only exchange ideas through mostly scheduled phone calls and teleconferences.
—Bloomberg