A new study from Texas A&M University found out that remote work doesn´t lower productivity. While the study started before the pandemic, it analyzed how people worked from home for 7 months due to Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
While other studies have found that in some cases, remote work increased productivity, this study focused on analyzing productivity when external situations, such as the hurricane. Take place.
Remote Work and Productivity
The group studies were made of 264 workers from large oil and gas companies in Houston. They had to leave the offices for 7 months after a Category 4 hurricane greatly impacted the city.
The study, which was recently published, consisted of a two-year analysis of employee data before, during, and after the hurricane. Researchers found that productivity levels were the same in the office, except when the hurricane hit the city.
According to researchers:
“The ability to work remotely may improve the resiliency of employees to perform workplace tasks during events causing workplace displacement,”
The study’s authors believe that it could help us understand the impact remote work had on productivity during the pandemic. And one of the conclusions they stated was that every company should have plans for remote work when natural disasters, pandemics, or other external situations happen.
