My Take on Working From Home - Fitzwilliam Essay Competition

Some claim that working-from-home (WFM) has negative effects on the

economic productivity of firms, and that working remotely is particularly scarring

younger workers who would benefit from exposure to 'tacit knowledge' and 'soft

skills' only learnable when working in person. Discuss.

Working from home is detrimental to 'economic productivity' but this is exactly why it spurs Economic Productivity. This is because the term 'economic productivity' is commonly misinterpreted, especially in relation to 'tacit knowledge' and 'soft skills'. Tacit knowledge 'collects all those things that we know how to do but perhaps do not know how to explain', such as office culture, or networking, but also how to read someone's face merely off of a screen. Soft skills are 'general skills that most employers look for when recruiting', such as organisation or decision-making but also communication (through multiple forms of media, including online). While tacit knowledge and soft skills are difficult to learn remotely -- increasing the risk of scarring to younger workers -- when learnt at home, they are strengthened to levels not possible when working in person.

I, myself, should know this.

I am lazy. All humans are lazy. My father is lazy. My father has also worked from home throughout my childhood. He does this to indulge in his laziness.

I have faced hardships and obstacles. All humans face hardships and obstacles. My mother faces many. She has also worked from home throughout my childhood. She does this because she has no other option.

These are the 2 lenses which I have witnessed drive the appeal for Working From Home: comfort and necessity. Thus, these are the 2 factors whose 'effect' on 'economic productivity' need to be discussed. This is why I know the definition for 'economic productivity' is incorrect in this context.

Economic Productivity

My A-level Edexcel Economics textbook defines 'economic productivity' as 'output per worker per unit time'. However, 'economic productivity' is much more accurately defined as motivation. All economists, whether Classical or Keynesian, acknowledge the existence of positive output gaps. This is where workers are producing overeager levels of output that will not last in the long run. Thus, an increase in 'output per worker per unit time' may just be short-run overenthusiasm by the worker (likely, considering the 2 main appeals for WFH), instead of an increase in real 'economic productivity'. Contrastingly, motivation is what drives workers to increase 'output' in the long run -- motivation increases enthusiasm and thus hard work/efficiency. Efficiency is very closely correlated to 'economic productivity', thus proving motivation and 'economic productivity' as synonyms.

The link between Soft Skills, Tacit Knowledge and Economic Productivity

My fundamental argument is that humanity's hunger for 'soft skills' and 'tacit knowledge', stemming from pride or necessity, causes an increase in motivation (and 'economic productivity') and vice versa. This is because motivation stems from an inner belief of/need for workplace success and talent. My generation, from interview questions to CVs to personal statements, have been drilled about the incredible value that having 'soft skills' and 'tacit knowledge' has, Thus, we measure our workplace success and talent in terms of it. Thus, any increase in the motivation to work, like WFH, should increase both the tacit knowledge and soft skills 'learn[t]', and economic productivity.

Home as a distraction

However, many, like me, would argue that it is much harder to work from home. Home is our comfort zone, a place of sleep, comfort and escape from the outside world. Home is filled with our guilty pleasures and favourite items, collected throughout our entire lifetimes. Home is our place to relax. Thus, home is not an efficient place to work. Instead, it is a place of distractions. I know this because I have witnessed my father's futile attempts to work. Growing up, my father would tell me that "the best way to start working is to make yourself a cup of tea, snuggle into bed and relax, just as Winston Churchill would". However, this goes against all scientific research, which suggests that being uncomfortable makes you: more perceptive of hidden (tacit) knowledge, more motivated, and leads to self-growth, such as in soft-skills accumulated. Thus, the comfort that WFH brings actually decreases both economic productivity and scars younger workers.

Home as a comfort

I, however, also know that humans are not blind to this fact. My father, deep down, knows he is not working productively, and yet, he simultaneously knows how much he values staying at home. It is in human nature for us to go to extreme lengths to prove to ourselves our decision is the correct one, much like a child using more effort in faking a sick day than just going to school. Thus, their motivation to be motivated in itself motivates them; they undergo the placebo effect.

Placebo Effect

When conducting my research for this essay competition, I found overwhelming evidence that WFH increases productivity, such as an improved work-life balance (and thus working conditions) for 78% of those WFH and an increase in wellbeing (and thus motivation) for 48%. However, all the data collected, from multiple sources, all seemed to be workers self-reporting. Thus, people wanted to be productive when working from home. This, however, led to 'a 13% performance increase, of which 9% was from working more minutes per shift (fewer breaks and sick-days)'. Thus the guilt behind their lack of productivity as a result of WFH led to higher economic productivity.

Desire to be more productive at home

Due to the many unreliable sources of data (due to self-reporting), I decided to conduct my own experiment, in which all warping of results (due to self-guilt) could be avoided. Using a stopwatch on my phone, I measured the time taken for 20 of my friends to answer a maths question in 3 different environments. I used friends of varying academic ability, and used the same 3 questions for each friend: 172, 182 and 192. To ensure they were not prepared, I asked my friends during random moments over 2 weeks. I also varied which environment I interviewed them in first/last. When socialising at a cafe, where over 7,000,000 WFH in the UK, the average time to solve the problem was 51.50 seconds, when unaware that they were being timed. In the school library, which has a culture of work, the average time to answer the question dropped to 35.79 seconds. Finally, in the same cafe, when told that their efficiency was being assessed, the time taken dropped to 22.91 seconds. This is because individuals were more likely to ask for a pen and paper (85% did), despite not being in a work environment. Thus, productivity is highest when individuals want to prove themselves, even if they are not in a 'work-friendly' environment. WFH gives workers a comfort they want to preserve, as they value this tremendously (they are willing to take an 8% wage cut to WFH). Thus, I also came to the conclusion that workers want to prove themselves when WFH and so should have the highest economic productivity.

Case Study: My Mother

However, WFH is also valuable as it widens the labour force tremendously. Those in poorer, less economically-active areas no longer have to commute unaffordable journeys to work nor live in hyperinflated apartments. Also, 3,000,000 single parents and 5,800,000 carers, like my mother, also now are able to work. From my own experience, the disadvantaged are the hardest, most motivated workers, as they understand that WFH jobs are their only opportunity for a stable, long-term income. Motivation increases competition in the workforce to be the best, as workers understand the value of a WFH job. Competition leads to improvement. Thus, the labour force is likely to become both brighter and more passionate, due to its widening. This enables firms to employ only the most motivated, and thus those who are likely to be the most motivated (economically productive) in the long-run. While these workers are likely to be working in a distracting, non-work-friendly environment (decreasing output per worker), they are also the most loyal. According to an article in Nature, WFH cut attrition by 33% overall, with the strongest effect on women and those with longer commutes. This is another reason as to why WFH and its negative effects on 'economic productivity' (output per worker) leads to an increase in Economic Productivity.

However, I acknowledge the flaw in this argument -- my parents, are not the 'younger workers' who may be 'scarr[ed]' from a lack of development of 'tacit knowledge' or 'soft skills'.

Younger Workers

I, however, am a young person. Thus, I am apart of the generation whose secondary school education was primarily working (or learning) from home, due to COVID. Thus, I am a first-hand witness to the effects that WFH had on my own 'soft-skills' and 'tacit knowledge'. Like my peers, however, technology was also an integral part of my childhood. Childhood is where all learn most of the soft skills and tacit knowledge that will carry them through the rest of their lives. Thus, I know the pivotable role that technology had in shaping my 'soft-skills' and 'tacit knowledge'. Growing up, like 89% of my generation, playing, for me, was via videogames, whereby you must face difficult situations with fast paced strategy and equanimity, all through a screen. Thus, 'younger workers', like me, associate technology with the ability to handle stressful situations well, along with being able to communicate, make new friends, make quick decisions and work together as a team. We are the generation whose tacit-knowledge and soft skills were formed by technology. Thus, I know my generation's skills will easily be strengthened, instead of 'scarr[ed]', by technology, via WFH.

My Generation's Relationship with Technology

As an Isolator

Some may argue, however, that this places technology as a safety blanket for my generation, shielding us from 'exposure' to new soft-skills and tacit knowledge. 94.6% of people acknowledge that people behave differently online and in-person, thus showing that soft-skills learnt online, such as through WFH, are not easily transferrable to the physical world. Since all important meetings, such as COP29, are always held in person, people who WFH are likely to be 'scarr[ed]' from a lack of 'soft-skills' and 'tacit knowledge' 'only learnable in person', thus limiting their ability to attend such meetings and advance, career-wise. Furthermore, the same people may argue that working-from-home is isolating. 40% of 16–24-year-olds often feel isolated. Working from home consists of staring at an 11-inch monitor for 8 hours a day. This means that younger workers will not have to commute to work. Thus, they will not have all the social interactions that are commonly associated with the commute. On my way to school, I buy breakfast, I talk to the lady next to me in Greggs, I talk to the cashier, I talk to the person sitting next to me on the bus (depending on their 'vibe'), I talk to the bus driver and then I enter school. Instead, younger workers are likely to shut themselves off from the outside world, as there is no need to leave their house, with 57% of UK citizens ordering takeout 3+ times a week. This causes their communication skills (soft skills) and 'vibe'-sensing skills (tacit knowledge) to suffer under lack of practise.

As a Safe Space

However, technology is my generation's safe space – all my fond childhood memories are associated with face-timing my friends late at night, not talking to them in person. It is also our favourited form of communication, with 39% of young people meeting their spouse online. Thus, enabling younger workers to communicate with their peers via the internet, while in the safety and comfort of their home (which is in the bounds of everyone's comfort zone), is likely to increase their confidence in communication. Therefore, they are more likely to gain enthusiasm about their increased (soft) skill-set and (tacit) knowledge. This will then decrease their feelings of loneliness as they engage with their co-workers, boosting morale and thus leading to a better, more productive work environment.

Forming Relationships with Technology

As a further isolator

On the other hand, some may argue WFH provides an obstacle to real engagement and connection with clients, as they cannot sense their physical presence, like they would be able to in a dinner. Furthermore, on a screen, only the client's face and shoulders can be seen, and they can only be seen through a small 2D square on the young worker's monitor. This screen is getting smaller each year, with Teams now being able to display the videos of up to 49 other people at once. Thus, the ability of the young workers to read their client's body language is becoming increasingly difficult each year. Reading body language and sensing an idea of the client's mood/personality are both examples of tacit knowledge, as they cannot easily be expressed into words. Thus, the ability to gain tacit knowledge becomes harder for younger workers when WFH, 'scarring' them and their future prospects.

However, WFH makes it much easier to talk to clients (as 3-hour dinners and 2 hour commutes can be whittled down into 30 min calls). Thus, clients and workers can call more often (with research showing quality time strengthens bond).

As a catalyst

Furthermore, our homes are keys to our souls, they are where our entire lives take place, where we raise our children, where we die, where we eat and sleep and live. Collectively, humans spend years nurturing their homes into the perfect microcosm of themselves, from tokens of special interests to special people. As a generation, who spent our teenage lives in a pandemic, isolated at home, we know this. Younger workers also acknowledge the drawbacks of a purely online worker-client relationship and thus are more likely, with their newfound confidence, to organise physical networking events / dinners with their clients. Furthermore, in order to protect the valuable comfort, the younger workers have via WFH, they are likely to increase their economic productivity by increasing their attentiveness to the few, very small details available to best understand their client. This maximises the tacit knowledge and soft-skills the younger worker has to extreme extents, ones not possible for those working physically. This is because the clients they call will also be WFH. Thus, workers will be exposed to the clients home as well as exposing their own. Thus, while it may be harder to read body signals to understand people, it is much easier to see into their 'souls' nevertheless as this is what workers are exposed to. Homes are also places of intimacy, reserved only for friends and family. Thus, not only are soft-skills and tacit knowledge enhanced when WFH, but also economic efficiency / strong, beneficial, worker-client relationships as they welcome each other (virtually) into their homes.

Conclusion

Thus, to conclude working-from-home has many implications. WFH is working with technology. WFH is working without a work culture around you. WFH is gifting workers the comfort of their bed. WFH is giving disadvantaged people the ability to work. All of this may, in theory, lead to a decrease in output per worker per unit time, i.e the traditional definition of 'economic productivity', as 'some claim'. However, when in the hands of my technology-expertised generation, it can lead to a strengthening of tacit knowledge and soft skills to levels not previously possible, purely due to motivation of 20-year-olds who like working in bed. Thus, I have reason to believe that those who do 'claim' that WFH has negative effects are rather those who are scared of technology and changing times, not familiar with it, and who are trapped in the nostalgia of their prime working life.

2500 WORDS

RESEARCH LOG

I picked this question because my parents have worked from home my entire life. I have watched their behaviour and I have seen them grow as people. WFH has given my Mum opportunities she never would have thought possible, as she came to this country an 18-year-old single girl from a quiet village in India. I wanted to warn people against the laziness I saw could arise from WFH while also showing the hope and financial freedom it could bring. I love my Dad, but seeing him fool himself time and time again that he was working well pained me. I also completed all my own work digitally in Year 8 due to COVID and so wanted to analyse the effect of applications such as Teams on productivity. Furthermore, I wanted to disprove those who often criticise my generation's overdependence on technology. I wanted to know who the 'some claim[ing]' were in the original statement. I also, when researching, found many holes and flaws in the methodology of the data found, as the many over-optimistic sources of data were all from workers self-reporting themselves. This criticism peaked my strong interest in behavioural economics, which I have studied in previous essay competitions, leading me to find my own data in the subject. Finally, I wanted to explore what the terms I hear so often mean, including what 'soft skills' and 'tacit knowledge' really were, leading me to discover what I thought is a better definition for 'economic productivity' (as a student applying to universities soon and as someone studying economics).

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