Valerie Mmanthe Mampshika,Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and English.
Working from home could either increase or decrease employee productivity, and that is why most companies are not willing to lose productivity which will cost them a lot of money instead of accumulating adequate funds for paying employees as one of the instances.
Allowing employees to work remotely can increase their productivity, and research illustrates that working remotely can salvage commuting costs yearly; in addition they can take breaks throughout the day which can result in less stress and healthier lifestyles because of flexibility. Research also shows that employees worked longer hours at home than in the office during Covid-19.
A study by Standford of approximately 16000 workers over nine months discovered that working from home increased productivity by 13 percent due to multiple calls per minute in a quiet and convenient setting, and working more minutes per shift because of several breaks and sick days, and in the same study workers reported improved work satisfaction and attrition rates were cut by 50 percent.
To hot desk or not to hot desk
Factors which could decrease productivity in workplaces are noted as multitasking, workplace stress, lack of sense of belonging and recognition, toxic workplace behaviour, damaged organisational structure, multiple meetings, and poor management by the superiors.
Once workers receive contracts of new jobs globally they are required to sign the documents which stipulate important information such as working hours and the salary for example,but at the end of the day most companies expect productivity without checking on the mental health of their employees which has a direct impact on productivity.
The maximum normal working time allowed (section 9 of the Basic Conditions Employment Act) in the Republic of South Africa is 45 hours weekly (9 hours per day (excluding lunch break) if the employee works for 5 days, and 8 hours per day (excluding lunch break) if the employee works more than 5 days per week.
In Europe working hours are limited to 48 hours a week,again Belgium which makes up a part of Europe introduced the concept of a four-day workweek for employees who wanted it earlier this year,also the European continent comprises of developed countries.
The productivity and economy of rich and poor countries can be amusing in a way,and that is why working from home is implemented in most rich countries resulting from adequate skills and resources.
Now you might be asking yourself whether remote based work might work in developing and underdeveloped countries to increase productivity, the answer is no because in most African countries citizens believe that there is mismanagement of funds by their governments respectively therefore funds might be allocated for proper resources and used for something else instead.
In closing,working remotely in underdeveloped and developing countries might be dysfunctional resulting from other aspects such as load shedding,hence not everyone will have access to solar panels or generators as alternatives of replacing electricity.
