I'm old enough to have spent all my working life in offices. Some people would goof off if they could get away with it. I imagine it's easier to goof off at home.
Found the nervous middle manager
It is easier to goof off at home. I don’t, personally, but a bunch of Wells Fargo remote employees just got fired when the company discovered they weren’t really working, but utilizing a program that sent the company a bunch of pre-set keystrokes and mouse movements to make it look like work was being done. Good riddance to them!
I like WFH and resent this attempt to shove everybody down crowded freeways back to the office, but there are certain advantages to having people come into the office, at least from time to time.
“Can they be supervised effectively to see that they’re not slacking off?”
I do clerical work on a computer. Management knows my productivity no matter where I’m at.
Managing at home workers is a skill.
It is a skill that can be taught and systems can be in place to assist that effort.
It can be done and done well—but it forces the organization to be honest about what they want from workers and how they want to measure it.
When properly monitored and measured work-at-home can significantly improve productivity.
Good organizations and managers get it done.
Bad ones cry it is “impossible”.