by Alex Braun ‘23

When the Coronavirus struck, the workforce was changed tremendously. Offices shut down and almost everything went online, with employees having to adapt and work from home. However, as we get further from the pandemic and go back to “normal”, several large companies such as Disney, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan have begun issuing deadlines for their employees to return to the office or risk termination. Employees are usually more productive when working from home, and for large companies, employees should not be forced to return to offices.

Working from home has proven to have mainly positive effects. A 2020 study done by Stanford University found that working from home increases productivity by as much as 13% overall because of a quieter work environment, less sick days since employees can work from home when sick, and fewer breaks. People also tend to be willing to work for longer hours because there is no traffic to beat or rush to get home since they already are home. It has been close to 3 years since most workers began to work from home and most of them have formed a new work routine while at home. Unless the research suddenly changes and shows proof of workers being less productive while at home, they should be allowed to continue working remotely.