Remote Work Is Inevitable. It Can Be Better.
Rather than trying to slow the WFH trend, employers should focus on how best to manage far-flung workers.
Some remote workers need to be managed differently than office staff.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Employees who work entirely from home are less creative and less productive, according to a new working paper from the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Fully remote employees also receive less feedback and must spend more time coordinating. As a result, they work longer hours to keep up with their in-office peers.
But the researchers nevertheless predict we’ll see even more remote work in the future. That raises the question: If WFH has so many drawbacks, why can we expect more of it? And maybe more important: If we’ll be doing more of it, how can we mitigate its downsides?