The Mobility Factor In Productivity

from the produtive-does-not-equal-happy dept

There have been plenty of articles looking at the blurring of work/life time thanks to new technologies -- especially wireless ones. A new study takes a closer look at some of these issues, noting that mobile workers tend to be more productive overall, than stationary workers. However, this doesn't actually mean they're more productive while they're working. In fact, you could interpret the study to mean that mobile workers are noticeably less productive per hour -- but they work more to make it up. The study throws some water on the officeless office fad, by noting that most people are most productive in a set work environment -- and get less productive as they get more mobile. However, by making it so they can do work when they previously could not, overall productivity increases, and many expect the trend to continue. The risk, of course, is that this is more likely to lead to employee burnout -- which is why companies may want to be a bit more proactive in making sure they let a bit more "life" into the traditional work environment. Already, the work side is encroaching on the life environment, so it's only fair for the opposite to happen as well. Instead, though, we get studies about how awful personal surfing at work is for productivity -- when a longer term view suggests the opposite is true. A good balance between work and life is important to both sides -- and companies that don't understand that are simply asking for trouble.