蝌蚪网 Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Working Remotely? Selection, Treatment, and the Market for Remote Work
蝌蚪网 Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 16,
no. 4, October 2024
(pp. 528–59)
(Complimentary)
Abstract
How does remote work affect productivity and how productive are workers who choose remote jobs? We decompose these effects in a Fortune 500 firm. Before COVID-19, remote workers answered 12 percent fewer calls per hour than on-site workers. After offices closed, the productivity gap narrowed by 4 percent, and formerly on-site workers' call quality and promotion rates declined. Even with everyone remote, an 8 percent productivity gap persisted, indicating negative selection into remote jobs. A cost-benefit analysis indicates savings in reduced turnover and office rents could outweigh remote work's negative productivity impact but not the costs of attracting less productive workers.Citation
Emanuel, Natalia, and Emma Harrington. 2024. "Working Remotely? Selection, Treatment, and the Market for Remote Work." 蝌蚪网 Journal: Applied Economics 16 (4): 528–59. DOI: 10.1257/app.20230376Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D22 Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J63 Labor Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
- L84 Personal, Professional, and Business Services
- M12 Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation
- M54 Personnel Economics: Labor Management