Do You Really Want to Work in Pajamas?

There are many industries that support work at home efforts. We've all seen the work-at-home websites and many of us have actually tried one or two. Many have also dreamed of a flight down the stairs as a commute to work and matching cotton outfits as our business attire. Contrary to popular belief, many employees would rather punch the clock at the office than work in their pajamas.

A phone survey was conducted by a renown staffing firm and the findings were astonishing. After surveying hundreds of employees age 18 and older, the study shows that 48% agreed that their jobs would be more difficult if they worked from home. Many find that the interactions between employees from day to day are key to working in the office. They also agree that being in the office helps maintain a higher level of professionalism and employees feel more motivated.

Bosses who responded to the same survey would rather have employees work from the office rather than from home. This comes to no surprise as many bosses would rather know what's going on and if the employees are being productive. They also agree that having employees in one place helps productivity and motivation in the workplace

Imagine this...you're an executive of a company and one your staff, Mark, leaves at 2 p.m. to catch a matinee, Julie leaves at 2:30 to pick up her son from school, Calvin comes in at 3 p.m. after Jujitsu training and Anthony makes conference calls while hunting. Is this an office out of control? Not really. It's a new "work-life balance" structure launched by employees of Best Buy. ROWE, was the brainchild of a handful of passionate employees that started from bottom up and has been a huge success for this big circuit outfit. Best Buy has reported online sales have increased 13% to 18% from those employees working from home.

Let's face it going AWOL during the middle of the work day is grounds for permanent dismissal at most companies. Best Buy sees it differently. They have invented a restructuring of traditional office hours and have completely crushed the clock.

So, what gives? Options. Choices. Flexibility. It has been proven, through ROWE, that when employees are given flexibility, productivity increases. Happy employees mean results, period. So, when Julie can pick up her son after school instead of relying on outside sitting and the extra bill to boot, Julie is happy to finish up the work when her son's bedtime arrives or even on the weekend.

When it comes to work from home versus the office, many employees would probably choose work from the office with flexibility. A structure like ROWE would fit well with many employees and reduce turnover rates.