Many companies now allow their employees to work from home, do you think the work output increases, decreases or remains same?

In the beginning of this year one of my top level employees came to me and said that he would like to resign.
This was a shock because he is one of the hardest working, most dedicated people in the company and it would have been a big loss to the company if he left.
So I asked if his problem was me or something he was unhappy with in the company? He said that his family lived in a city5 hours away from where we are (by train) and that he only got to see them once every week or two and his parents were getting old and he wanted to spend some times with his kids and extended family.
Noe I had to come up with a solution for this because I could not afford to lose him.
So I asked him to if he would give me some time to think about a solution.
As I was driving back home I thought of letting him work from his location (his home office) in the city his family stayed in.
I called him and asked him if that was a workable solution for him.
He was ecstatic.
He understood that he was important to the company and that we would work around his problem to continue to have him on our team.
I called my boss (the owner of the company) and initially he refused to allow it.
The next day I sat with him and explained why it was a good idea after which he agreed.
The stipulation was that he spend at least1 week in the month with the team so he can attend meetings.
The issue was a big success and he was far more productive because he was happy.
He even came up with a few innovations while working from home.

Depends on the work and the amount of concentration level it requires.

There is no problem, it's the same when deadlines are respected, goals are realized, information is updated.Many times, intervention by distance is most important than to be in your work "just in time" to resolve a problem.

I definitely would say, it completely depends on that particular employee to whom you want to offer Work From Home.
Now , if the employee is responsible ( Which we would know prom his past record in the company) , i don't think output would be an area of concern.
How ever there are risks to the same as well.
An employee who is responsible while being watched might not be the same @ home when not being watched.
I would have done the same if i was in your position , if i didn't want to loose an employee.whose resigning would effect my company.
But i would keep a clause to be safe that if there is any decrease in output he might need to come back to work from office.

Working at home remains as if he was working at office, the place of work doesnt decide the rate of increase or decrease unless it meets the following scenarios.
The working envirnoment should not be a disturbing environment, and The working environment should be a private area where interference of people is relatively nothing.
Otherwise the focus is scattered and quality of production decreases

It depends on the context.
If the team members are situated abroad and team members are working in virtual environment, it doesn't matter whether you work from home or office.
Internet accessibility is a must which will allow you to do the job since you can connect with your team members easily.
However, some jobs require interaction between people (for example a corporate trainer training executives) in which case coming to office is essential.
A plant manager will not be able to manage a plant while at home.
He will have to interact with colleagues and subordinates to discuss various issues that may require his intervention.

Telecommuting (work from home) is becoming more popular in the western world too.
Yes, it depends on the job function heavily, but generally, yes, it increases productivity (work output).

Working from home or working from the office I believe its the same thing.
The only difference is where the employee feels that he is focused to his work and considers it his work environment.
Its all about how you feel in the environment your put in.
As for the comment Mr.
Mahmoud left was based on the facts that this gentleman was well focused at work and the only obstacle he was facing was that he was not involved in his families life and they really wanted his input in the company so they allowed him to work from home and he was already a well focused person so the outcome was great.
It all depends on the employee and how determined he is.

Increase

remains same.

It can improve productivity in certain cases, all depends on teh employees dedication.