The state of Utah conducted a pilot project allowing 136 employees to work from home 3 days per week. Like other companies have reported, they saw productivity go UP by 20 percent. They’re planning to expand this project across additional state departments, benefiting up to 2,555 employees.
This is a huge win for their working parents struggling to find and afford child care in centers. Offering remote work options is just one example of a child care solution businesses can offer their working parents. While many assume productivity would drop for an employee working from home, the average productivity rate tends to go up. This includes employees with children at home; in fact they tend to overcompensate.
Other positive side effects of this pilot program are environmental: it prevented 273 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. Expansion of the program could prevent around 1,300 pounds.
