Working from home… doncha just love it? Well, to be fair, it depends on whose home you are working from. As many of you know, here at the Decision Marketing Nerve Centre – aka my esteemed boss’ front room – we have to put up with a lot.
It is a bit like working from home because I am usually the only person here, but it is also a bit like working in an office because I can rarely escape for more than a couple of hours at a time.
Still, it seems Amazon’s edict to get all its workers back in the office has caused some consternation elsewhere that flexible working models will soon be disappearing faster than a rat up a trouser leg.
Although to be fair, if everyone followed Amazon’s work practices, we’d all have been doomed years ago. Luckily there is help at hand from some bloke called Guy Thornton, who is apparently founder of a firm called Practice Aptitude Tests (I am calling it PrAT for short).
You see, young Guy insists that all employers can address concerns about whether their staff will be able to stay productive by using – yes, you guessed it – aptitude tests to assess how well they are suited to working from home. These tests offer a practical, data-driven way to gauge productivity in potential remote settings, apparently.
He explains: “Some people are far more productive in a fast-paced, office environment, whereas others thrive in the comfort of their own space. Learning which approach suits your team members best is a great way to make informed decisions about whether to remain remote or return to the office.”
Our Guy reckons there are three key considerations. If you want your staff to have problem-solving skills, a cognitive ability test (CAT) would be ideal, as it assesses a person’s ability to analyse information and solve complex problems.
Whereas if time-management is an issue, a situational judgement test (SJT) can provide insight into how employees prioritise tasks when faced with two deadlines at once.
Then again, a personality assessment test (PAT) can indicate how self-motivated and adaptable an employee might be when working remotely.
Guy concluded: “A recent study found that employees who worked fully remote were 20% happier than those who weren’t able to. Having happy employees can result in boosted productivity levels, increased profitability, and better quality of work.”
To be fair, there is a fourth test, and one that it seems my boss likes to adhere to, namely the can they get hammered down the pub at lunchtime and still get all their work done in the afternoon without passing out test.
And, dear Foxy fans, if you can get through that one, the doors of the Decision Marketing Nerve Centre will always be open for you…
Follow Foxy on X and Instagram if you must, but don’t get too excited as I’m never there
