Our first Annual Telework Productivity Report presents a comparison between in-office work and remote work. This comparison is based on an objective analysis of 46,295 records of daily activities from employees of various companies, collected automatically.
The report examines a series of parameters, such as the duration of the workday, the level of concentration, the length and frequency of breaks, start and end times, time distribution, and differences in work behavior according to temporal factors, such as the day of the week.
The purpose of this study is to analyze and understand various dynamics related to work time by comparing telework and office work.
Methodology Details
The measurements presented in WorkMeter’s First Annual Telework Report were conducted with the explicit consent of the companies and prior notification to the 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 set of 46,295 records of daily activities, 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 policies and practices.
Parameters Analyzed in the Study
The key metrics used to prepare the report include:
- Activity: Refers to the time the employee interacts with the computer, either online or offline.
- Productivity: Measured as the portion of active time the employee spends on key applications for their job.
- Expected: Represents the expected activity or productivity time for an employee according to their role.
- Active Range: Indicates the time interval 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 was on break or not actively working.
- Day of the Week: Analyzes if there are performance differences according to the day of the week.
- Telework/In-Office: Allows comparison of performance between telework days and in-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 in-office work.
Key Results of How Telework Affects Productivity
Here are some of the most relevant results from the study.
Distribution Between Telework and In-Office Work
One of the first conclusions highlighted by the study is that despite the growth in adopting hybrid work models, the proportion of days dedicated to telework (38.28% of the data analyzed) is still lower than the traditional in-office work mode (61.72%).
Regarding the distribution of workdays, the most common model involves 1 day of telework for every 4 days of in-office work, representing 50.93% of the total. Additionally, there is a trend to concentrate telework days towards the end of the week, with Thursday being the most common day and Tuesday the least frequent.
On the other hand, 12.13% of employees enjoy 4 days of telework, while 9.83% work completely from home throughout the week.
The results indicate that companies tend to start the week with their employees physically present in the office, possibly to address planning meetings and task distribution.
Productivity in Telework
In general, employees exhibit higher activity and productivity during their telework days compared to the days they work in the office. The data indicates that employees meet the expected work time and are slightly more productive when teleworking, with a difference of 16 minutes below the expected time in telework compared to 38 minutes below the expected time in in-office work.
This trend is even more pronounced for managers, who experience a more significant increase in productivity during telework. For these roles, it is advisable to have a performance management tool that can objectively and automatically measure team efficiency, whether in in-office or telework environments. This way, they can accurately evaluate the time dedicated to tasks and understand their teams’ work dynamics.
Focus
Regarding focus, telework seems to foster greater concentration, with 71% focus during telework days compared to 66% during in-office workdays. These differences are even more notable for managers, who achieve 83% focus during telework compared to 65% during in-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 among colleagues, or the decrease in time spent supporting team members.
An Extended Workday in Telework Productivity
Most companies and employees included in the sample, over 80%, maintain a workday that varies 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 in-office days, this difference is offset by the end time.
In the study, we can see, for example, that while 22.47% of workers in an in-office environment finish their workday between 5:30 PM and 6:00 PM, only 14.88% of teleworkers have finished their work by that time. This may indicate that working from home offers higher levels of flexibility, consequently providing more opportunities to achieve a work-life balance.
Remember that technological tools such as time-tracking software can help you track presence, start and end times, and effective working hours of employees, including recording the breaks and rests required by current legislation.
The Impact of Breaks
The study also examined the nature and duration of breaks at work. In general, 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 improved work-life balance.
These differences are even more noticeable for managers, as the time they spend on breaks while teleworking is considerably higher than that of employees (2.8 breaks per hour compared to 1.5).
Report Conclusions
This study provides insight into how telework affects productivity and reveals other important aspects of employees’ work time, such as:
- Extending the workday does not necessarily lead to increased effective work time or higher productivity.
- As the active time interval extends, there is a tendency for breaks to be longer.
- Recording employees’ breaks and rest periods is essential to ensure compliance with digital disconnection.
- It is highlighted that in situations of high work activity, productivity tends to be higher.
- As breaks during the workday increase, the gap between expected and actual productivity tends to decrease.
- The importance of balancing the workday duration with efficient time and break management to optimize productivity in the work environment is evidenced.
