Working Remotely: The Current Scorecard

Remote work has become more and more common in U.S. businesses. It is routinely cited as a perk more employees would like, at least some of the time.

Yet some large companies have moved to decrease their remote workforces, telling entire departments to re-deploy to physical locations — with those who choose not to work on-site let go. Such moves attract attention in the tech-focused press in part because tech companies, and the digital abilities they've fostered, are the reasons remote work has become so possible and so widespread. Even companies that pioneered remote work — and saved millions in costs doing it — have made these reversals, citing the ability of certain locales to inspire employees and a desire to improve collaboration and teamwork. Some employees speculate the real goal is trimming headcount.

Is It Bad for Business?

Is calling everyone back a good business move, though, regardless of the strategy intended? Maybe not. Companies that made similar moves in the past didn't see the intended cohesion or productivity show up in their results.

Many studies of employee productivity, in fact, indicate that productivity is heightened by remote work. Employees report feeling happier and having less work-related stress as well. Both are factors that enhance the qualities firms usually want to foster, such as productivity and loyalty.

Eliminating or curtailing remote work may also cause top performers to go elsewhere. The relative commonness of remote work means that people who really want it are likely to find a place where it's possible and encouraged.

Remote work also provides more opportunity for employment in areas that need it, including hard-hit rural areas and the nation's heartland. Centralizing work in specific locations may improve the employment picture for those areas, but it removes work from other locales.

What Comes Next

It's likely that companies will decide on remote work according to their business model, results, and strategy. For some sectors and occupations, remote work is very plausible. For hands-on, teamwork-intensive sectors and firms, it may be less so. The comfort of managers and employees on-site will also be a factor. Time will tell if the inroads made by remote employees will increase, stay the same, or evaporate.