Work-from-home (WFH) become a new norm for many companies after the pandemic. Now some companies go even further and implement a new concept called Work-from-anywhere (WFA), meaning that employees can live where they want. WFA provides geographic flexibility and is considered to be a huge benefit for the workers. But how does it influence productivity?
In a natural experiment, researchers from Harvard Business School studied the implementation of the WFA concept in the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) and found out that this transition led to a 4.4% increase in the output of the workers without the incidence of rework.
The research determined that geographic flexibility derives greater utility to workers and positively influences motivation and productivity due to reduced commute time, fewer work breaks, sick days, a quieter working environment etc.
When providing WFA programs to the employees, it is important to make sure that there is proper virtual communication in place. This is where virtual reality collaboration platforms like Glue shine as VR technology provides your team with the opportunity to have virtual meetings that are as productive as face-to-face ones.
Source: Work-From-Anywhere: The Productivity Effects of Geographic Flexibility