A study by Cirano shows that the more time we spend in the office, the less efficient we are. (Photo: Studio Republic for Unsplash)
Damn job! The section where Olivier Schmucker answers your most interesting questions [et les plus pertinentes] About the modern business world… and of course its shortcomings. Appointment to read Tuesday And the Thursday. Would you like to participate? Send us your question to [email protected]
Question: “We are talking more and more about decreased productivity due to remote work. This may be true, but I wonder if this is also true regarding working in the office: different managers tell me about the sad sight they see in the office today: employees who are tired, grumpy, and even on the verge of burnout. Wouldn’t the decline in productivity actually be widespread? – Sybil
A: Dear Sybil, The managers you used to talk to are actually right: there is indeed a decline in labor productivity in Quebec. According to Statistics Canada data, the value workers produce per hour worked decreased by 1.5% in 2022 compared to the previous year; It fell by 3.9% in 2021. This means that all Quebecers today produce less wealth – goods and services – when they work one hour than they did in previous years.
In the last column you reference, Cybèle, presented data revealing that workers, in general, were less productive when working remotely than when working in the office. Thus the current obsession with remote work is an element that can partly explain the decline in worker productivity.
What about work done in the office? Has it also started to decline recently? A study by the Interuniversity Center to search for and analyze organizations (Cirano) initiated “The faces of the students in hybrid mode (questionnaire)” and mentioned by Ali Béjaoui, Sylvie St-Onge, Ingrid Peignier and Félix Ballesteros who received all the necessary indications. This subject.
The researchers questioned 4,550 workers in Quebec about their current work lives, for example, about their level of commitment to their work, or their sense of well-being at work. They categorized participants into different categories, based on their work style (100% in the workplace, working remotely one day a week, working remotely two days a week, etc.). This allowed them to discover that those who work in the office, by their own admission, are not performing optimally:
– Employees who spend 100% of their time in the office say they have a competency (achieving goals) of 4.17 (on a scale of 1 to 5); However, the overall average is 4.30.
– For those who work remotely one day a week, the score is 4.23.
For those who work remotely two days a week, the score is 4.26.
In other words, the more time we spend in the office, the more our performance deviates from the average.
The study provides some clues that could explain this phenomenon.
– The individual’s commitment to his job is below average (3.83): a score of 3.80 when the person is 100% in his position; Score 3.78 when working remotely one day a week; Score of 3.76 when you are away two days a week.
– Affective commitment to your organization is below average (4.1): 4 when the individual is 100% in the position; Score 4.01 when working remotely one day a week; You get 4 points when you are away 2 days a week.
– Feeling of well-being is also below average (4.14): score 4.02 when 100% in the office; Score 4.10 when working remotely for one day per week; Score of 4.07 when working remotely two days a week.
– Worse still, the feeling of being on the verge of burnout is above average (2.63): 2.73 when you are at 100%; Score 2.77 when working remotely one day a week; Score of 2.74 when you are away two days a week.
– Unsurprisingly, the individual’s intention to leave his or her employer soon was above average (1.89): a score of 1.99 when the person was 100% in the position; Score of 2.06 when working remotely one day per week; Score of 2.02 when you are away two days a week.
In short, the more time we spend in the office, the less committed we are to our work and organization, the less happy we are, the closer we get to burnout, and the more willing we are to look elsewhere to see if the grass is good and greener. Which leads, among other things, to poor performance at work.
Sybil, we are seeing a decline in work productivity both in the office and remotely. This is already a general decline.
Dear employers, this is your big challenge for 2024: If you really want to reconnect with productivity, make your employees want to give 110% again. To do this, the solution is probably very simple: what if you asked them directly what would allow them to achieve this…
By the way, the French writer Gustave Flaubert said in a letter to Louise Colet: “To order oranges from apple trees is a common disease.”
