Working at home is so incredibly context specific I wonder how applicable this data is to other industries. I'd love to see more studies done to figure out how good or bad working at home is in general and what industry(ies) it works in versus doesn't work in.
Personally I usually get more work done at home (especially since there is no commute time) but I also usually work more hours because I get constantly interrupted at home and context switching is hard (at least for me) (wife and kids = interruptions). Even though I love being able to see my family more, saving money on gas, etc I still prefer to work the majority of my time at an office mostly because it's far easier for me to avoid context switches at an office than at home (switching too much is exhausting).
I have my office at a friends house. I save him $75 a week in dog sitter fees and bring fire wood in for the fireplace in the winter. In return I get a nice office in the country with multiple windows, a Persian rug under my chair, and no distractions.
That's why you need an office. If you own a home I encourage you to build a small separate structure in you back yard to house your office. If you're in an apartment it's much tougher.
The context switching is all about setting expectations. Everyone in the house needs to know that when you are in your office or have headphones on then you're not to be bothered.
Ha, I do have a small office but it's hard with multiple kids that are able to run around and open doors. Sometimes it works out and sometimes not so much.
An interesting point -- what job can't work from home? The study's author mentions in the article that "The more robotic the work, the greater the benefits, we think." Up to you if you consider pushing code robotic, I guess? :)
I work in sales and our entire team is field-based, with no concept of an office except for in the home state. It makes sense, but it does get lonely. However, there are ways to get around this. As suggested in the article and these comments, there's technology to bridge just about any problem for WFH, which is why it is on the whole a positive thing for many industries.
I very much agree. In an earlier job I used to work remotely from two days a week to going about couple of weeks without going to the office. This was when we didn't have children.
Now that we have a year old daughter and my spouse is currently at home with her, working remotely requires more thought as to the working conditions. Picking the days when my family goes out during the day work out as the best remoting days.
I've worked remotely in an apartment with my two kids (5yo and 3yo), and is not easy: sometimes I ended up working during late hours because then I had quiet time.
On the other hand, I find it priceless I can take a quick break and play for a couple of minutes with my kids.
What helped me is to use earphones, isolating the noise and signaling that I'm working and not to be interrupted.
Personally I usually get more work done at home (especially since there is no commute time) but I also usually work more hours because I get constantly interrupted at home and context switching is hard (at least for me) (wife and kids = interruptions). Even though I love being able to see my family more, saving money on gas, etc I still prefer to work the majority of my time at an office mostly because it's far easier for me to avoid context switches at an office than at home (switching too much is exhausting).