Do Employees Need to be in the Office to be Productive?

“I usually go home at night and spend 2 hours on my computer doing work and responding to emails. It’s quicker that way as I’m not distracted and being pulled into meetings and loose conversations all day. Could I be more productive at home? God yes! And I’d appreciate the opportunity and probably work a little harder.”

- A former employee as submitted to HR

There is a common school of thought among business owners that the only way they can trust their employees to actually be working while they are getting paid, is if they are in the office, physically present in front of the boss to see them doing the work.

Business owners are the ones writing the checks. One of the biggest expenses every month is payroll and the money that goes out to the people who work for the company. When an owner sees that chunk of money leaving the bank account each week, there needs to be a feeling that the expense is worth it. Human nature dictates that we most easily believe things when we see them with our own eyes.

Combining these two things - Critical evaluation of writing a check + Seeing is believing = Business owners want to see what employees are doing to justify the check they are writing.

This makes sense. However, it is possible that it also may make sense for a business owner to empower their employees with clear goals and expectations of performance, allowing that employee to achieve them in the most effective way possible for them. That may be by being in the office and collaborating with others, or it may be hunkering down at a computer to finish a presentation or a forecast where distractions are inhibiting. Most commonly, there are times when both of these environments are appropriate.

This is not at all to say that a business owner should just let employees do what they do - It will be critical for the owner to be evaluating and watching and coaching and clearly articulating expectations. Regular meetings and check-ins will still be needed, and if an employee is not being successful in using their own methods, others may need to be implemented for them.

There are service jobs, customer-facing jobs, entertainment jobs, etc., where a person in that role must be at their place of business to perform his or her job. However, there are more jobs where a person has a role at a company; be it sales, marketing, accounting, operations, technology, etc., where the work that needs to be done is equally, if not more effectively done away from the office. Technology and mobile communication has made “office-hours” largely irrelevant, and many people check work email and poke at tasks for work at all hours of the day - often from home. Does the boss see this effort?

With digital tools enabling work to be conducted and tracked, oftentimes creating automated reports, a business owner has other ways of “seeing” an employees work effort. Platforms like Salesforce and tools like Office 365 and the G-Suite from Google enable sharing, tracking and detailed insight into business activities. Employers can see what employees are doing and usually exactly when they did it. Sending out proposals, following up on leads, creating budgets or inventory reports can all be seen in real-time. A well-thought out dashboard that enables the business owner to see reports of employee work, monitor the progress of sales efforts and most all aspects of business, can often replace physical sight to “see” what an employee is doing. Business owners may not see the person at their desk or physically present, but the dashboard can clearly show what an employee has been doing.

Employers typically hire people for a job based on skills and experience a person has, and how that matches with what they need from a new employee. Finding a skilled employee and then dictating how they do their job, likely is not making the most of their experience and knowledge. All employees need direction, an understanding of the culture, training and answers to their questions - but with that in hand - let them do their job. From the office, from home, from the road, the car… the goal should be achieving the desired results, communicating effectively and regular evaluation of their efforts. To focus on the “how” or “where” these results are achieved can take away from the primary goal of getting the results.

Successful businesses focus on getting results. The process and the method may matter in some cases, but the best process or method may not be the same for everyone. Skilled employees know how to get results and know how to communicate - If a business owner can get those two things from an employee, what more is there to ask?

Set the goals. Set expectations. Communicate. Let people do their job. Evaluate. Repeat.

“Where” and “how” are usually less important.