Name: Some Workers Are Having Trouble Getting Things Done at the Office
Uploaded: 2023-08-13T15:49:00Z
Duration: 3 min 43 s
Description: After several years of working from home, some people find it difficult to complete tasks at the office. WSJ reporter Ray A. Smith joins host J.R. Whalen to discuss ways people can be more productive in the office. Photo Illustration: Sam Kelly

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After several years of working from home, some people find it difficult to complete tasks at the office. WSJ reporter Ray A. Smith joins host J.R. Whalen to discuss ways people can be more productive in the office. Photo Illustration: Sam Kelly

https://m.wsj.net/video/20230814/d791227a-0ad8-4858-995c-800ac1752a94/1/hls/manifest-hd-wifi.m3u8

Some Workers Are Having Trouble Getting Things Done at the Office

JR: Here's Your Money Briefing from Monday, August 14th. I'm JR Whalen for the Wall Street Journal. Many employees have settled into a hybrid schedule, a mix of office days and work from home. But some say they're having a hard time getting things done when they're back at their desk in the office. Wall Street Journal Reporter, Ray Smith looked into this and joins me. So Ray, what have years of remote work done to our ability to concentrate?

Ray: Some workers have lost the muscle memory in their minds required to get jobs done in an open office setting. And it's almost like flabby biceps. That muscle has to be exercised to strengthen. And after years of remote work, basically our brains selective attention skills and ability to block out distractions has weakened.

JR: Why are some bosses so insistent on people returning to the office and how do their views differ from workers?

Ray: Yeah, bosses believe that being together in office fosters more comradery and collaboration and creativity. And workers say, "Yeah, but I can just be more productive at home." And they feel like they can come in for meetings or team projects, but otherwise they feel like they should have the flexibility to work from home for more focused work.

JR: What kinds of adjustments are people having to make when they're in the office?

Ray: Well, a couple of things. They have to get used to distractions and by distraction, you know, it could be other people just moving about or talking or overhearing other people's conversations or phone calls even. Especially in an open office, an open plan office.

JR: But chatter and the activity among coworkers isn't anything new. I mean, it was all there before everyone went home in 2020. Is it really that hard of an adjustment?

Ray: Yes, it is. One expert I interviewed, she cited pre-pandemic research that shows it takes 20 minutes to get used to background noise but five minutes of silence before bringing back that noise forces the brains process to start over again. So just toggling between work from home solitude one day to a noisy office the next that can have a similar effect.

JR: But it wasn't exactly silence is golden while working from home. People dealt with a lot, kids and spouses, the dog, the neighbor mowing the lawn, right?

Ray: That's right. And that's one counter argument to this. And people found ways though to combat that. Whether it was going into some sort of private space or wearing noise canceling headphones or just signaling to the people around them, look, can you go outside or go out of the room? 'Cause I really have to concentrate on this. So we found effective ways to sort of counter that when those situations arose.

JR: And the bottom line from the perspective of managers and employees is that work has to get done and get done efficiently. So what can people do to focus more clearly?

Ray: You know, that's a really good question and some people I talked to talked about noise blocking headphones or noise cancellation headphones that can work or point blank letting colleagues know when they're not to be disturbed. Or in some cases you can find a quiet space or even if your office has booths you can go into one of those or just make a request, a friendly request to colleagues to be quieter. But don't abandon your effort to try to get work done in the office. I was told that if you say, oh, I'm just gonna do my focus work at home you're prolonging your inability to focus, do focus work in the office.

JR: That's Wall Street Journal Reporter Ray Smith and that's Your Money Briefing. I'm JR Whalen for the Wall Street Journal.

WSJ's Your Money Briefing podcast is your personal-finance and career checklist. Finance reporters and experts break down complicated money questions every weekday to help you make better decisions about managing your money. 

Some Workers Are Having Trouble Getting Things Done at the Office

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