Dr. Glenn Dutcher
CNBC did an extensive interview with Glenn Dutcher for a story headlined “Working from home actually makes you better at some tasks and worse at others—here’s what you need to know.’
Dutcher is Assistant Professor of Economics at Ohio University.
And the truth is, it’s much more complicated than just laptops and video conferencing. For instance, what does working from home do to your performance, productivity and creativity?
There’s research on that, and it suggests that working from home actually makes you better at some tasks, and worse at others.
For instance, a 2012 study found that people performed “dull” tasks better in a controlled cubicle setting than they did in a less-structured remote environment.
The reason? If you’re in a less-structured environment, but you’re faced with a boring assignment, ordinary distractions (like walking your dog, doing your laundry or watching TV) seem more interesting, Glenn Dutcher, assistant professor at Ohio University who has studied the effects of telecommuting on creativity and productivity, tells CNBC Make It.
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While people might excel at creative tasks while working remotely, “the sharing of ideas is extremely important for creativity,” Dutcher says.
Since that’s harder when working from home, find other ways to stay in constant contact with your team, Dutcher says. For instance, set reminders to send a Slack, email or call at a certain point in the day.
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“Try and take advantage of the sort of open environment” away from the confines of a cubicle, Dutcher says.
This could be the ideal time to get going on a project or endeavor that you know requires creativity or quiet introspection, Dutcher says.
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