Nowadays a lot of work is happening outside of the office. More companies are letting individuals work from home, and some are moving to a completely virtual environment; however, some still believe that working in an office is the ideal environment for work related productivity, but is that really true?
Jason Fried, a software entrepreneur, conducted a TED Talk called “Why work doesn't happen at work“, which is a great piece that explores some fantastic points of how the office can be more distracting for workers, and ultimately less productive.
“Where do you go when you need to get something done?” He said, explaining that he had been asking this to people for years. “ I'll hear things like, the porch, the deck, the kitchen. I'll hear things like an extra room in the house, the basement, the coffee shop, the library. And then you'll hear things like the train, a plane, a car … You almost never hear someone say, the office.” He argues that the office is not the most productive place for people to work.
Watch his TED Talk Below:
1) No Random Interruptions From Your Coworkers
Working from gives people long stretches of uninterrupted time to be creative and productive. No one is stopping by your desk, no one is throwing a Nerf dart at you, or being overly loud one cubical over. The biggest distraction is an email, or Skype ping, which, if you're really in your work-groove ("flow"), you can turn on and off notifications and respond on your own time.
2) Flexibility to Step Away and De-stress
Sometimes we get stuck on a particularly difficult task, and the best thing we can do is step away from it a moment and come back with a clear and focused mind. Working from home gives you the opportunity to do just that without worrying about disturbing others around you, or becoming a distraction yourself. Also taking mini-breaks when you need to will make your overall work much more productive.