Last month, I explained why open plan offices are the dumbest management fad of all time. Then, earlier this week, I described how a study of 47,264 workers found that they're happier and more productive if they have private offices. That study, however, assumed that everyone would be coming into work every day. What about working from home?
Based on the overwhelming evidence (see the many links below), I'm convinced that allowing employees to work from home is the smartest management strategy of all time--even smarter than giving them private offices.
Before going any further, though, we must ask: what makes a management strategy "smart?" The best definition of "smart" in this context is "an easily-implemented strategy that increases revenue and reduces costs." A quick but permanent productivity boost, in other words.
Very few management strategies meet those criteria. Downsizing, for example, reduces costs but kills revenue. Centralizing and decentralizing are both time-consuming and ultimately a wash. Reorganizing is famously pointless and time-consuming.
And while management fads work flawlessly in PowerPoint, they always fail to deliver in real life, especially fuzzy-wuzzy biz-blab like "build a great corporate culture" and "collaborate to be more innovative." (eye-roll)
There is one management strategy, however, that is easily implemented and immediately increases productivity while reducing costs: allowing employees to work from home and remotely, rather than forcing them to come into the office every day.