Is there any hard data on the (dis-)advantages of working from home?

Posted by peterchen on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by peterchen
Published on 2010-12-13T13:09:06Z Indexed on 2012/06/01 22:50 UTC
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Is there any hard data (studies, comparisons, not-just-gut-feel analysis) on the advantages and disadvantages of working from home?

My devs asked about e.g. working from home one day per week, the boss doesn't like it for various reasons, some of which I agree with but I think they don't necessarily apply in this case.

We have real offices (2..3 people each), distractions are still common. IMO it would be beneficial for focus, and with 1 day / week, there wouldn't be much loss at interaction and communication. In addition it would be a great perk, and saving the commute.


Related: Pros and Cons of working Remotely/from Home (interesting points, but no hard facts)


[edit] Thanks for all the feedback!
To clarify: it's not my decision to make, I agree that there are pro's and con's depending on circumstances, and we are pushing for "just try it". I've asked this specific question because (a) facts are a good addition to thoughts in arguing with an engineer boss, and (b) we, as developers, should build upon facts like every respectable trade.

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