Recent data collected during and after the Covid-19 pandemic showed that employees who work from home are more more productive than office workers.

Business leaders and corporate decision makers are at their wits’ end trying to understand the correlation between employee productivity, remote working and quietly quitting.

Below I discuss four reasons technology professionalslike software developers, show a huge drop in productivity since returning to the office.

Many tech workers reluctantly returned to brick-and-mortar offices after being summoned by their superiors to avoid facing harsh consequences and disciplinary action that would lead to their dismissal.

Experts say working from home can increase employee satisfaction and productivity. Technology employers are surprised when employees return to headquarters and their productivity suddenly drops dramatically.

Related: 12 Unconventional Ways to Increase Employee Productivity

4 science-backed reasons why tech workers are more productive at home

Technology professionals such as software developers, cybersecurity analysts, website developers and data analysts are seeing a significant drop in productivity as they are forced to return to work in brick-and-mortar offices or risk losing their jobs.

This is evident from research reports by independent researchers Apollo technical and Owl Labs, tech workers who can work almost from home double the productivity levels of their office counterparts.

Research shows that employees can be more productive when they work from home for the following reasons:

1. Fewer Distractions: Working from home eliminates many of the distractions employees face in a typical office environment, including coworker interruptions, office noise, and office politics. By performing their daily tasks in a familiar home environment, employees can better concentrate on their work. Experts say reducing distractions can also reduce stress and increase productivity.

2. More Flexibility: Remote workers with more flexibility in their work hours and environment can see even greater productivity gains when they plan their work hours around energy peaks when they feel more focused. Greater flexibility can enable employees to tailor their work to their individual needs and preferences, increasing job satisfaction.

3. Improved Work-Life Balance: Working from home can also improve employees’ work-life balance by reducing commute time to work. This time savings can translate directly into more quality time with friends and family and happier employees who have time for hobbies and other interests. A better work-life balance can increase job satisfaction and reduce stress.

According to data from the United States Census Bureau, the average travel time in the United States is 26.1 minutes one way. The study shows that employees who work from home full-time can save about 52.2 minutes per day or 4.35 hours per week in travel time alone.

Highly driven employees often use the extra time saved from commuting to work extra hours, which can result in a noticeable increase in productivity for their employers and a nice increase in income for the employee.

4. Better Health and Wellness: Research has shown that working from home can have a positive effect on the health and well-being of employees. For example, working from home can reduce the likelihood of workers being exposed to diseases such as Covid.

Employees working from home can also experience less stress without office politics. Having a home office also allows employees to engage in healthy behaviors such as taking much-needed breaks and integrating fitness and exercise at home into their workday.

Related: 5 ways to measure remote worker productivity

The correlation between remote work and quiet quitting

Research shows that employees who worked from home during the pandemic were more productive than those who had to come to the office at the end of the pandemic.

The same study shows that reduced employee morale and productivity are associated with quiet quitting.

Several studies show that being forced to come to the office under the threat of dismissal or disciplinary action can seriously affect employee productivity when they are forced to return to the office.

Disgruntled employees may deliberately slow down production or gradually become less productive as they look for other work-from-home options.

Having the ability to work remotely is high on the list of benefits and perks that contribute to increased productivity levels among remote workers.

In contrast, employees who do not have the option to work from home often report decreased job satisfaction, which can lead directly to what is known as silent quitting.

Being driven back to the physical workplace after working from home brings down the morale of tech workers. Rather than quitting in a dramatic or confrontational manner, employees who quietly quit may become less productive, take more sick days or take personal time off, and generally quit their jobs for a period of time.

Eventually, they may stop showing up for work or stop responding to communications from their employer, effectively leaving their job without any formal notice. Silent quitting can be challenging for employers to detect and address, as it often happens gradually with no obvious signs of conflict or employee dissatisfaction.

Related: What silent quitting employees are trying to tell you

The “real” reason why US corporate productivity is falling

Research shows that one of the main reasons why business productivity drops is that employees are dissatisfied in some way.

A major cause of tech worker dissatisfaction is being forced to return to headquarters and leave the comfort of their newly built home office. Some company employees (who have been placed remotely) have made significant strides during the pandemic, moving to other states and to land!

Being called back to the office when the Covid pandemic ends was not something expected by the army of home workers that caused the pandemic.

Many of today’s tech workers are quietly rebellious as they continue to search for their dream job that will allow them to do most of their work – from home.