The way office workers work was greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, when most office workers had to start working from home. Since the restrictions following the pandemic lifted people started going back to their offices, but for many the possibility to work from home remained. Hybrid work, when the office worker can alter between working in the office and from home, is now very common.
Earlier research has shown conflicting results whether office workers’ productivity is affected by working from home or not. Some studies shows that there is no difference in productivity outcomes between people who work from home compared to those who work in offices. Other studies suggest that productivity outcomes are higher among office workers working from home than the ones who only work at the office.
There is a trend among some employers wanting their staff to come back to work in offices full time again. With this study we search to investigate if this is conflicting with productivity output (and by extension economical goals) and if it is in the best interest of the office workers’ health.
This study has two aims:
The study population is office workers who work in a municipality in northern Sweden. They have answered two different surveys, one was based on the COPSOQ III-survey with some additional questions and the other one compiled of questions about the physical work environment and work productivity. The later survey was originally designed and used in their research project in another municipality in northern Sweden.