There is good news for those who like to work from home. A new study by a research team from Texas A&M University School of Public Health finds that employee and company flexibility can be increased through remote working, according to a statement published Friday by the institute.
Evaluating Employee Productivity During Hurricane Harvey
This is especially true during natural disasters and other incidents leading to workplace displacement. In particular, tThey studied employee technology data assessed before, during, and after Hurricane Harvey.
What the researchers found was that overall computer use decreased during the storm, but rapidly returned to pre-hurricane levels seven months after the event.
“In the future, there will be a greater percentage of the workforce that is involved in some sort of office-style technology work activities,” said Marks Benden, director of the school’s ergonomics center.
“Nearly all of the employees in the study were back to the same level of output as they were doing before Hurricane Harvey. This is a huge message for employers right now because we are having a national debate about whether to hire employees remotely. Whether to be able to work from or in a hybrid schedule.
search for workplace injuries
The study went beyond assessing productivity to examine the causes of workplace injuries. They found that it was important for employees to take regular breaks to avoid getting hurt at work.
“Research says that if you work a certain way at a certain pace over a certain period of time, you’re more likely to be injured by that work,” Benden said. “But if you work a little less or a little less often or have break periods or have some other character trait — like posture — you’re less likely to develop a problem from doing your office work.”
Bendon suggested that employers encourage employees to take regular breaks and recharge before finishing their jobs. He argued that this would make for a healthier and more resourceful workforce.
“People who took the recommended breaks were more productive overall. They did more,” he said. “We need to learn this about people, we need to teach people about it, and then we People really need to help make this happen.”
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