Our first Annual Telework Productivity Report presents a comparison between On-Site and Telework. This comparison is based on an objective analysis of 46,295 daily activity records of employees from various companies, collected automatically.
The report examines parameters such as workday duration, concentration levels, break lengths and frequencies, start and end times, time distribution, and differences in work behavior according to temporal factors like the day of the week.
The purpose of this study is to analyze and understand various dynamics related to working time by comparing telework and office work.
Methodology details
The measurements presented in the WorkMeter First Annual Telework Report were conducted with explicit consent from companies and prior notification to employees, who were aware that their data would be recorded anonymously. These measurements focus exclusively on activities performed on computers.
The report is based on a dataset of 46,295 daily activity records, technically referred to as “man-days,” collected from companies in Spain with staff ranging from 40 to 500 employees.
Additionally, the study offers a series of conclusions and recommendations that companies can use to inform and adapt their telework-related policies and practices.
Parameters analyzed in the study
The key metrics used to compile the report include:
- Activity: This indicator refers to the time the employee interacts with the computer, whether online or offline.
- Productivity: Measured as the portion of active time the employee dedicates to key applications for their job.
- Expected: Represents the expected activity or productivity time an employee is supposed to fulfill according to their role.
- Active range: Indicates the time range during which an employee’s activity is recorded.
- Focus: Evaluates the employee’s concentration level throughout their workday.
- Breaks: Measures the total hours the employee spent on breaks or was not actively working.
- Day of the week: Analyzes if there are performance differences depending on the day of the week.
- Telework/On-site: Allows comparison of performance between telework days and office days.
- Employee role (employee/manager): Considers the employee’s role within the organization to identify specific performance patterns.
These metrics were used to obtain a detailed and objective view of work dynamics in relation to telework and on-site work.
Key results on telework productivity
Here are some of the most relevant findings from the study.
Distribution between telework and on-site work
One of the first conclusions highlighted by the study is that despite the growth in adopting hybrid work models in companies, the proportion of days dedicated to telework (38.28% of the analyzed data) is still less than the traditional on-site work (61.72%).
Regarding the distribution of working days, the most common model involves one day of telework for every four days of on-site work, representing 50.93% of the total. Additionally, there is a tendency to concentrate on telework days towards the end of the week, with Thursday being the most common and Tuesday the least frequent.
On the other hand, 12.13% of employees enjoy four days of telework, while 9.83% work entirely from home throughout the week.
The results indicate that companies usually start the week with their employees physically present in the office, possibly to address planning meetings and task distribution.
Productivity in telework
Overall, employees show greater activity and productivity during their telework days compared to days they work in the office. The data indicates that employees meet their expected work time and are slightly more productive when teleworking, with a difference of 16 minutes below the expected time in telework versus 38 minutes below the expected time in on-site work.
This trend is even more pronounced for managers, who experience a significant increase in productivity during telework. For these roles, having a performance management tool capable of objectively and automatically measuring team efficiency is recommended. This way, they can accurately evaluate the time spent on tasks and understand their teams’ work dynamics.
Focus
Regarding focus, telework seems to foster greater concentration, with a 71% focus during telework days compared to 66% during on-site work days. These differences are even more notable for managers, who achieve an 83% focus during telework compared to 65% during office work.
This phenomenon can be attributed to various factors, such as the nature of the tasks performed, the reduction of common office interruptions like unplanned meetings or spontaneous conversations between colleagues, or the decreased time spent supporting team members.
Extended workday in telework productivity
Most companies and employees included in the sample, over 80%, maintain a workday ranging between 7 hours and 30 minutes and 8 hours and 30 minutes. Regarding the start and end times of the workday, there is a general trend towards a longer workday during telework. Although employees usually start their workday a bit later when working from home compared to on-site workdays, this difference is offset by the end time.
In the study, we can see, for example, that while 22.47% of workers in an on-site setting finish their workday between 5:30 PM and 6:00 PM, only 14.88% of teleworkers have finished their tasks by that time. This may indicate that working from home offers greater flexibility and, consequently, more opportunities to achieve a work-life balance.
Remember that there are technological tools like time control software, with which you can know the presence time, start and end times, and effective work hours of employees, even recording breaks and rests required by current legislation.
The impact of breaks
The study also examined the nature and duration of breaks during work. Generally, it is noted that during telework, breaks tend to be longer.
This could suggest that employees take advantage of the flexibility provided by telework to manage their time and breaks more independently, contributing to a better work-life balance.
These differences are even more noticeable for managers, as the time they spend on breaks while teleworking is considerably greater than that of employees (2.8 breaks per hour compared to 1.5).
Report conclusions
This study provides insight into how telework affects productivity, while also revealing other important aspects of employees’ working time, such as:
- Extending the workday does not necessarily lead to an increase in effective work time or greater productivity.
- As the time interval in which an employee is active expands, there is a tendency for breaks to be longer.
- Recording employees’ breaks and rest periods is crucial to ensuring compliance with digital disconnection.
- High activity periods correlate with higher productivity.
- As breaks increase during the workday, the difference between expected productivity and actual productivity tends to decrease.
- Balancing workday duration with efficient time management and breaks is essential for optimizing productivity in the workplace.
If you wish to read the full report and see all the details, you can download it HERE for free.
