Phys.org July 30, 2024
After the Covid-19 pandemic firms are now struggling to implement a return to working from the office (WFO), as employees enjoy the significant benefits of working from home (WFH) for their work-life balance. An international team of researchers (USA -University of Chicago, Germany, UK) used unique and detailed data from an Indian IT services firm which contains a precise measure of innovation activity of over 48,000 employees in these three work environments. The key outcomes were the quantity and quality of ideas submitted by employees. Based on an event study design, the quantity of ideas did not change during the WFH period as compared to WFO, but the quality of ideas suffered. During the later hybrid period, the quantity of submitted ideas fell. In the hybrid phase innovation suffered particularly in teams which were not well coordinated in terms of when they worked at the office or from home. Researchers suggested that remote and hybrid work modes may inhibit collaboration and innovation… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE