The best available evidence suggests remote and hybrid work does not reduce productivity for most computer-based jobs, and hybrid schedules improve retention. A randomized trial of 1,612 employees found that working from home two days a week had no effect on performance. Results vary by role, by how the arrangement is managed and by whether work is fully remote or hybrid.
Key takeaways
- Two randomized experiments found remote or hybrid work matched or beat office performance.
- US industry data shows productivity growth rising with remote work, not falling.
- Leaders and employees see the same reality very differently.
- The risk for remote staff is being overlooked, not underperforming.
What do the main studies show?
| Study | Who was studied | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Bloom, Liang, Roberts and Ying, 2015 | Call center staff at a large Chinese travel agency, assigned at random to home or office for nine months | A 13% increase in performance at home, and far lower staff turnover |
| Bloom, Han and Liang, Nature, 2024 | 1,612 employees at Trip.com, assigned at random to hybrid or full-time office work | No effect on performance reviews or promotions, and resignations down by a third |
| US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024 | 61 private-sector industries, 2019 to 2022 | Productivity grew faster in industries where remote work rose more |
| Microsoft Work Trend Index, 2022 | 20,000 people in 11 countries | 87% of employees said they were productive. 12% of leaders were fully confident their team was |
What do the experiments tell us?
Randomized experiments are the strongest evidence, because they compare like with like.
In the 2015 study, home workers handled more calls. Most of the gain came from working more minutes per shift, with fewer breaks and sick days, and the rest from more calls per minute in a quieter setting. One finding deserves attention: home workers were promoted less often than their performance warranted.
The 2024 study looked at a hybrid schedule over two years. Performance grades and promotion rates were the same in both groups, and quit rates fell by a third among hybrid workers.
Both studies come from one company and cover particular roles. They show remote work can succeed. They do not show it always will.
What do economy-wide data show?
Economists at the Bureau of Labor Statistics compared the rise in remote work with productivity across 61 industries. They found total factor productivity growth was positively associated with the increase in remote workers, even after allowing for trends before the pandemic.
That is an association, not proof of cause. The same article notes that a few single-company studies during the pandemic found productivity fell in the short run. Fully remote work adopted overnight in a crisis is a different thing from a planned hybrid schedule.
Why do leaders and employees disagree?
Microsoft called it productivity paranoia: leaders fear work is not happening even as hours and activity rise. In its survey, 85% of leaders said the shift to hybrid work had made it hard to be confident employees were productive.
The cause is visibility. In an office, managers see people working and take that as evidence. At a distance that signal is gone, and nothing replaces it unless you build something that does.
What should managers do with this?
Prefer hybrid where you can
It has the strongest evidence.
Replace visibility with shared facts
Agree on outputs, and give both sides the same data about time and work.
Watch for proximity bias
Check promotions and reviews for remote staff against their results.
Design the things offices do by accident
Onboarding, mentoring and informal contact need a plan.
Measure your own team
Published research is a starting point. Your data is the answer. See How to measure employee productivity.
How does BirdsEye help with remote productivity?
BirdsEye gives leaders and employees the same factual record, which is the cure for the perception gap. Managers see who is working, in which application and on which project, with tracked time and a productivity score over any period. Employees see their own day and the rules that apply to them.
It tracks time and activity for computer-based work. It does not judge quality, so use it alongside output measures. For the monitoring side, see How to monitor remote employees without micromanaging.
Frequently asked questions
Are remote workers more productive than office workers?
Sometimes. The strongest studies show remote and hybrid workers performing as well as or better than office workers in the roles studied. It depends on the job and on how the arrangement is run.
Does hybrid work hurt performance?
A two-year randomized trial published in Nature in 2024 found no effect on performance reviews or promotions, and lower resignations.
Why do managers think remote workers are less productive?
Mostly because they cannot see the work. Surveys show a wide gap between how productive employees say they are and how confident leaders feel.
How can I show that my remote team is productive?
Track outputs against agreed goals, and keep an automatic record of time by project. Together they answer the question with facts.
Sources
- Bloom, Han and Liang: Hybrid working from home improves retention without damaging performance, Nature, 2024
- Bloom, Liang, Roberts and Ying: Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment, NBER
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics: The rise in remote work since the pandemic and its impact on productivity
- Silicon Republic: Microsoft report on hybrid work and productivity paranoia