Co-workers working from home and individual and team performance

Area of Science:

• Business and Management
• Organizational Behavior
• Human Resource Management

Background:

• The rise of remote work, driven by technological advancements, has transformed workplace dynamics.
• Existing research on working from home primarily examines individual impacts, neglecting the influence of co-worker remote work arrangements.
• The collective effect of co-workers working from home on performance metrics remains an understudied area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of co-workers working from home on both individual and team performance.
• To highlight the significance of co-worker effects in the context of remote work, which have been previously overlooked.
• To provide empirical evidence on how the prevalence of remote work among colleagues influences productivity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized unique data from a large-scale survey across nine European countries.
• Analyzed data from 259 establishments, 869 teams, and 11,011 employees.
• Employed statistical analysis to isolate the effects of co-worker remote work on performance outcomes.

Main Results:

• The extent of co-workers working from home significantly impacts employee and team performance.
• A negative correlation was found between the number of co-workers working remotely and individual employee performance.
• Increased prevalence of co-workers working from home was associated with diminished team performance.

Conclusions:

• The remote work status of co-workers is a critical factor influencing workplace performance.
• Organizations must consider the collective impact of remote work policies on productivity, not just individual benefits.
• Future research should incorporate co-worker dynamics to fully understand the implications of working from home.