What are the advantages and disadvantages of WFH vs WFO? Let’s evaluate them side by side to see what each has to offer in terms of upsides and downsides.
What does Adobe, Salesforce, Twitter and Spotify have in common? These companies have redesigned their workspace to adopt hybrid work models for the long haul. Most workers want to continue working remotely or hybrid. According to FlexJobs’ Annual Survey, 58% of respondents report they want to be full-time remote workers post-pandemic, while 39% want a hybrid work environment. What’s noteworthy is that 97% of workers want some form of remote work.
Taking a decision after considering employees’ sentiments should be easy. Despite the desires of workers, companies are pushing hard for people to return to their cubicles.
While working from home allows you to spend more time with your family and relax, office work allows you to meet more people in person and creates a clear separation from household duties.
There’s been a lot of talk about the advantages and disadvantages of remote work for employees, but you should also consider how this work paradigm would affect you and your organization. It’s critical to understand how working from home and working from the office affects attrition, employee retention, talent acquisition, and other factors. Let’s delve into this debate of WFH vs WFO.
WFH vs WFO: Which one increases productivity?
The differences listed below are referred to as advantages or disadvantages by some; we refer to them as opportunities. We’ll explain the benefits of WFH vs WFO so you can pick the best option for your business and team.
Remote work vs office
There is a huge difference between working from home and working from an office. To begin with, you communicate differently and carry out responsibilities differently. While working from home allows you to spend more time with your family and relax, office work allows you to meet more people in person and creates a clear separation from household duties.
Working in the office
The benefits of working in the office are numerous and we list some of them below.
You have a clear schedule
You most likely work from 9 to 5 or have a set work schedule in the office. When compared to remote work, this is a substantial advantage. When you work from home, your schedule is significantly longer, and you must balance your personal and professional lives. This can cause a slew of issues. Working in an office creates fixed working hours for these reasons, and you can rest assured that you will not work any longer than necessary.
You have in-person communication
Many employees prefer to communicate with their coworkers and clients in person. This provides them with additional comfort and pleasure. Body language can teach you a lot, and it may also help you alter your speech to the situation. This is only possible if you work in an office.
Considering all of these advantages, we can conclude that office work is well-managed when it is well-organized. When you work in an office, there are various disadvantages that we will discuss below:
- You need to spend time commuting to the office
- You need to dress professionally
- You need to be surrounded by many colleagues and some of them might be annoying
Working from home
When it comes to working from home, there are both advantages and disadvantages to this type of work. Consider the following advantages of working from home, which are both evident and widely accepted by most workers.
You can be more relaxed
This means that you do not have to dress up professionally or stress about the common transportation problems. You can work when you are most productive and you can create your own office at home that will be surrounded by the things that are important to you. You can have more breaks, work when you are productive, and create your own schedule.
You spend more time with family members
In this remote work vs office battle, we can say that working from home means that you can spend more time with your family members, which is a significant benefit. If your kid is sick and he or she needs to stay at home, you can be by their side and help them on those days. You will have more time for home duties and you will not have to spend time commuting.
Some cons of WFH are the following:
- There is no clear boundary between work and home.
- There is less in-person contact with the coworkers.
- Spending more time indoors and inactivity.
As you can see, there are many WFH vs WFO pros and cons. You can decide which option is better for you and what kind of work appeals to you more.