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Yesterday afternoon I was mulling over why, according
to Statistics Canada, people who work in corporate settings are significantly
more productive than people who work out of their home offices, when my wife
came home and announced that her group at the Senate of Canada had just got a
new copier that was an absolute dream to work with. Not only did they get
a new copier, but they got about an hours formal instruction on how to use
it. She added that all Senate staff had new copiers and had received
instructions on how to use them. A few months ago, she told me that they
had all got new monitors and new Windows software, which again they were shown
how to use. And occassionally she has problems with her computer.
When that happens, someone will immediately come in to fix it.
To someone who operates out of a home office, all of
that sounds like a bit of a dream - new equipment, someone to set it up for you,
and someone to fix it if something goes wrong. It has me wondering
how large a role it plays in the corporate versus home office productivity
gap. Not only is the productivity of people like my wife enhanced, but the
productivity of the guys who are kept busy fixing things and setting things up
counts too. The more things break down and need fixing, the more new
systems need to be installed, the more productive they are.
People who work in a corporate setting have other
advantages too. They don't have to use valuable time to sell themselves or
their products, "Sales" does that for them. They don't have to use time to
keep track of their hours, which are fixed, and if they incur personal problems
on the job, why there is "Human Resources". All they have to do is be
productive whether they are doing very much or not, which means putting in a 7.5
hour day.
None of the foregoing is meant to impugn on my
wife. She is truly productive and is recognized as being something of an
encyclopedia on things like Senate rulings and precedences.
Ed
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