ARLINGTON, Va.–Count credit unions among those organizations attempting to get a handle on whether there have been productivity gains in remote-work environments.
It’s an issue, as CUToday.info reports separately, companies across the country have been attempting to better quantify as many employees are being asked to return to work.
“We did a survey of our members on remote work a year ago and then a couple of months ago. We did ask specifically about productivity where we asked, ‘Have you been more productive than you expected?’” said Curt Long, NAFCU’s chief economist. “By and large, people said yes.”
In the most recent survey NAFCU probed C-suite executives for their views on the pros and cons of remote work environments, with productivity listed under each option. Long reported respondents didn’t list that specific measure at the top of either list. Instead, concerns around other issues such as office culture were more likely to be mentioned.
‘The Interesting Thing’
Not surprisingly, said Long, “The interesting thing about productivity was depending on how they answered, it tied in very strongly to how much remote work they wanted to do. Those that thought remote work was a net productivity enhancer were much more likely to see the benefits.”
Long said in his own discussions with NAFCU-member credit unions he has found “strong positions” on both sides of the question.
“It ties in with other big operational concerns, such as staffing issues and wage growth. All of those things kind of work together,” he said.