As the intense debate around the impact of working from home on productivity continues, Stanford University has released a comprehensive new study that provides an in-depth analysis of the rise in remote work. Using multiple data sources, the authors (Bloom, Davis, and Zhestkova) document how working from home jumped five-fold from 5% of workdays before the pandemic to 25% by 2023.
Most critically, they review mounting evidence that fully remote work reduces productivity by 10-20% on average, while hybrid models have no negative impact and allow organizations to access a wider talent pool.
Their findings suggest working from home will continue to rise over the next decade, transforming how and where work is conducted.
Why it matters: As pioneers in remote collaboration technologies, tech leaders have an obligation to develop new tools and management practices tailored to distributed work. Getting remote and hybrid work right is critical not just for productivity but also recruitment and retention in the tech talent war.
- The amount of working from home is expected to continue growing over the next 10-20 years as technology improves. The pandemic caused both a one-time jump up and also accelerated the long-run growth rate.
- About 60% of U.S. workers do not work from home at all because their jobs require in-person work. Around 30% work in a hybrid model, typically going into the office 2-3 days per week. About 10% work fully remotely.
- CIOs have an opportunity to drive competitive advantage by allowing their companies to access broader talent pools while sustaining productivity.
Go Deeper —> The Evolution of Working from Home – Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
