Are we really more productive at home?

Remote work has shifted from a niche privilege to a mainstream reality across Europe. Before the pandemic, only about 5% of Europeans worked from home on a regular basis. By 2020 and 2021, this figure rose quickly as governments and employers embraced teleworking. However, the transition was uneven. Finland, for example, recorded around 25% of workers usually working from home in 2020, whereas countries such as Croatia and Romania reported figures as low as 3% or even less. Germany fell somewhere in between; by 2023, nearly a quarter of German workers were engaging in some form of home-based work, almost double the share before the pandemic (Destatis, 2023).

This rapid transformation has raised an important question: when employees transition from the office to a home desk, does their productivity decline or improve?

Productivity trends: what do studies say?

Early evidence from the pandemic period suggests that productivity did not collapse following the move to home offices. On the contrary, it often remained stable or even improved. A report by Eurofound (2023) concluded that “productivity was not lost when employees were working from home; on the contrary, it increased,” based on employer surveys in Austria, Italy and Spain. In Germany, a survey of 1,516 people found that team collaboration and productivity slightly improved in agile IT teams with some members working remotely (Krzywdzinski, 2022, as cited in Eurofound, 2023). Similarly, a two-year study by Great Place to Work, which tracked over 800,000 employees, found that productivity remained stable or improved after the transition to remote work (Great Place to Work, 2025). Many organisations did not witness a decline in output when the office closed; in fact, output often rose.

Self-assessments from workers support this. In a United States survey during 2020, two-thirds of employees felt they were as productive or even more productive at home than in the office, with 42% reporting productivity gains above 10%. European workers described similar experiences. An EU working conditions survey found that a large proportion of employees felt their efficiency either remained the same or improved with telework (Barrero et al., 2021; Eurofound, 2023). In addition, a study by McKinsey estimated that about 20% of the workforce could work remotely three to five days per week as effectively as in the office. In that same study, 41% of employees reported achieving more when working from home (McKinsey Global Institute, 2020, as cited in WorkingSmart Project, 2022). These positive outcomes are often linked to factors such as reduced commuting time, fewer workplace distractions, and the ability to focus in a personalised environment.

Nevertheless, the story is not universally positive. A minority of surveys, including those in Belgium and Denmark, reported productivity declines during extended periods of remote work. Challenges cited included technical issues, restricted access to documents, difficulties in communication, and the blurring of work-life boundaries which could lead to stress and so-called “Zoom fatigue.” Some managers also expressed concerns about reduced creativity or team cohesion when everyone worked remotely. Indeed, research highlights potential drawbacks if remote work is poorly managed; knowledge-sharing may suffer, and innovation could slow if colleagues do not meet face-to-face.

There is also a perceptual divide between staff and executives. Employees often believe they are highly efficient at home, while some executives remain sceptical. One global survey found that employees estimated they were about 7% more efficient when working from home, whereas senior managers believed productivity actually fell by around 3% (Bloom et al., 2023). This disconnect, sometimes referred to as “productivity paranoia,” underlines the importance of trust and clear measurement.

Overall, however, the consensus from academic and industry research is that remote work has not significantly harmed productivity. If anything, when well implemented, it tends to match or even exceed in-office productivity (Eurofound, 2023; Great Place to Work, 2025).

Hybrid work and IT teams: finding the right balance

As the pandemic recedes, many European companies, especially in the IT sector, are moving towards a hybrid work model that combines remote and in-office days. This approach aims to capture the advantages of home working while retaining the benefits of in-person interaction. Research from Harvard Business Review authors (Bloom et al., 2023) indicates that hybrid arrangements have “little net effect on productivity and may increase it” on average. The reasoning is straightforward: if an employee achieves the same results in three days at the office as they previously did in five, partial remote work is in fact a more efficient use of time.

By eliminating commuting and some lengthy meetings, hybrid workers can reclaim hours each week, which can be dedicated to focused work or rest, thus reducing burnout. The analysis also suggests that while fully remote work might carry a small productivity penalty (approximately 10% lower output on average in some studies), hybrid work does not exhibit this drop and often shows modest gains. This aligns with earlier experiments, such as a well-known pre-pandemic study at a Chinese travel agency which saw a 13% performance boost among employees working from home several days each week (Bloom et al., 2015).

For many IT professionals , including developers, analysts, and engineers, working from home can be highly effective for tasks requiring deep concentration. Developers, for example, have reported equal or slightly higher output (measured in lines of code or project completion) when given the flexibility to work remotely (Choudhury, 2020). Modern agile software teams have also adapted successfully. A study in Berlin found that agile IT teams maintained or even slightly improved their productivity with some members working remotely, thanks to strong digital collaboration tools and team cohesion.

However, the success of hybrid work in IT (or any sector) depends on good management and a healthy team culture. Trust and clear communication are critical. Organisations recognised among the “best workplaces” typically foster cooperation and trust in their remote teams, resulting in higher productivity (Great Place to Work, 2025). Employees who feel trusted and supported are more likely to go the extra mile to deliver results, regardless of their location. In contrast, poor leadership or excessive micromanagement can cause remote productivity to decline.

IT teams also benefit from periodic in-person meetings for brainstorming, problem-solving, and maintaining social bonds. While day-to-day output can be sustained remotely, innovation and knowledge-sharing often thrive with some face-to-face engagement. Many technology companies now allow engineers to work from wherever they are most productive, while bringing the entire team together for design sprints, planning meetings, or team-building events. This hybrid strategy aims to achieve the best of both worlds: focus and flexibility from home, and creativity and connection from the office.

Nearshoring: remote work across borders

Within the European IT industry, the growth of remote work has also encouraged nearshoring, which is the practice of outsourcing projects to teams in nearby countries. Nearshoring essentially represents remote collaboration on an international scale and its rise highlights how productivity can be maintained outside traditional office settings.

Companies based in high-cost centres such as Germany or the United Kingdom are increasingly partnering with skilled IT teams in countries like Poland, Croatia, or Romania, where talent is plentiful. Crucially, these arrangements keep teams within similar time zones and cultural contexts, which facilitates smoother communication. According to a 2025 IDC survey, 42% of large European enterprises plan to shift from offshore to nearshore IT services in the coming years. The rationale is that geographical and cultural proximity makes coordination easier and productivity more sustainable.

Shared working hours enable real-time collaboration, and fewer language or cultural barriers help minimise misunderstandings. Many businesses report that nearshored teams deliver quality and speed comparable to in-house teams (ITdaily, 2025). Essentially, advances in remote work technology allow companies to access a wider talent pool without sacrificing efficiency. A developer in Zagreb or a quality assurance engineer in Warsaw can contribute just as effectively via digital tools as a colleague in Munich, provided that project management is robust.

Nearshoring demonstrates that being “productive at home” need not be confined to individuals within one city; it can also describe distributed teams working from their respective homes or offices across Europe. As one German CEO put it, “team spirit and productivity are not about location, but about attitude”, a sentiment that applies equally to nearshored and fully remote teams.

Individual differences and the future of work

While averages and large-scale studies are valuable, it is important to remember that productivity is ultimately personal. What works well for one person may not work for another. Some individuals thrive in the quiet of a home office, free from workplace interruptions, achieving more in less time. Others find it difficult to work away from the structured environment and social energy of an office.

There are also well-being considerations. Working from home provides flexibility and can reduce commuting-related stress, but it can also foster feelings of isolation or result in longer working hours if boundaries are not carefully managed. The ideal arrangement depends greatly on a person’s role, personality, and home environment. An introverted software developer with a calm home workspace may be happier and more productive working remotely, while an extroverted project manager may benefit from spending more time in the office with colleagues.

Because of these individual differences, many European employers are now adopting more flexible policies. Rather than imposing blanket mandates, forward-thinking organisations allow employees some choice in where they work best. Research supports this approach: hybrid arrangements, when well managed, do not harm performance and can improve job satisfaction and staff retention.

The key lies in setting clear expectations and supporting employees wherever they work. This may include investing in better digital tools, training managers to lead remote teams effectively, and ensuring that remote staff feel included and valued. In the IT sector, where distributed and nearshored teams are common, this often means nurturing a strong online team culture and regular check-ins.

In conclusion, are we really more productive at home? The evidence suggests that many of us can be just as productive, and sometimes even more so, when working remotely, particularly for knowledge-based work such as IT, provided there is strong support (Eurofound, 2023; Bloom et al., 2023). Yet there is no universal answer. Productivity depends on the nature of the job, the tools and support available, and individual preferences. For some tasks and teams, the office remains the better environment; for others, the home office has clearly proven its value.

Ultimately, the future of work in Europe appears to be moving towards flexibility: a blend of remote and in-person arrangements designed to maximise both performance and employee well-being. Recognising that everyone is different and accommodating these differences may lead to the most successful outcomes. 

Organisations that understand this and trust their people to choose the most effective way of working are likely to achieve the best results, whether the work is done at a company desk or a kitchen table.

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References 

• Bloom, N., Barrero, J. M., Davis, S., Meyer, B., & Mihaylov, E. (2023, August). Survey: Remote work isn’t going away — and executives know it. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from hbr.org.
  
  
• Destatis – German Federal Statistical Office. (2023). Nearly one quarter of all employed persons work from home destatis.de. (Quality of Employment, Home Office data). Retrieved from https://www.destatis.de.
  
  
• Eurofound. (2023). The future of telework and hybrid work. Publications Office of the European Union. Retrieved from eurofound.europa.eueurofound.europa.eu.
  
  
• Great Place To Work. (2025, May 20). Remote Work Productivity Study: Surprising Findings From a 4-Year Analysis. Retrieved from greatplacetowork.com.
  
  
• ITdaily (IDC Research). (2025, June 3). Strategically Close: Why Nearshoring is a Growing Trend in Managed IT Services in Europe. Retrieved from itdaily.com.
  
  
• WorkingSmart Project. (2022). Remote work situation across Europe and its main challenges. Erasmus+ WorkingSmart. Retrieved from workingsmartproject.euworkingsmartproject.eu.

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