The debate about the merits of work from home (WFH) versus work from the office (WFO) continues. In September, Amazon announced that from January staff would be required to work from the office five days a week.
Internationally, the approach to work locations varies, with employees attending London offices on average 2.7 days a week, New York 3.1 days, and Singapore 3.2 days, according to data from the Centre for Cities thinktank.
There is also a varied picture in terms of employee collaboration, productivity, and innovation — critical elements of successful businesses. Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey found that 24% of Gen Z and Millennials (Gen Y) noticed increased collaboration and social interaction with work colleagues in the office, but nearly a fifth experienced lower productivity in that environment.
A recent study at an India-based IT services company that looked at innovation — measured by the quantity and quality of employees’ ideas — found that during a wholly WFH period the quality of ideas decreased and during hybrid working there was a dip in the quantity of ideas. A decrease in innovation was particularly seen in hybrid teams where WFH and WFO were not well coordinated.
Oliver Rowe is FM magazine editor-in-chief. To comment on this article or to
suggest an idea for another article, contact him at Oliver.Rowe@aicpa-cima.com.
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