Remote Workers Show Productivity By Attending 59% More Meetings

The shift to remote work has been a dramatic trend as of late, with many employees eager to take advantage of the wonders that it can send their way. Many have assumed that working from home would result in a drop in productivity, but in spite of the fact that this is the case it turns out that remote work allows employees to become more productive than might have been the case otherwise.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that researchers at the University of Texas revealed some intriguing factoids about remote workers and their productivity. One such revelation is that meetings have actually increased by as much as 59% between 2020 and 2022 which is when work from home started becoming the norm. That adds up to an extra three meetings for remote workers, going from 5 in 2020 to 8 in 2022. This is a clear sign that they are getting work done instead of slacking off.

Another massive increase was seen in terms of one on one meetings that happen spontaneously. Such meetings went from 17% to 66% in two years, which is yet another indication that remote work is not the death of productivity that so many feared it would be.

Interestingly, even though meetings have been happening more and more frequently, they are not lasting as long as they used to. From an average of 43 minutes in 2020, meetings now take around 33 minutes to wrap up in 2022. That seems to suggest that work is being done more efficiently than might have been the case otherwise, since extended meetings are a sign that things are going slower than they are supposed to.

All in all, it seems like remote work is here to stay. The only threat was a loss in productivity, and all signs point that that just isn’t the case. More people are looking for job postings offering flexible work hours and work from home options, and chances are that this trend will see further growth in 2023.

H/T: Harvard Business Publishing

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by Zia Muhammad via Digital Information World