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How hybrid working from home works out

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  • Bloom, Nicholas
  • Han, Ruobing
  • Liang, James

Abstract

Hybrid working from home (WFH), whereby employees work a mix of days at home and at work each week, has become dominant for graduate employees in the US. This paper evaluates a randomized control trial on 1612 engineers, marketing and finance employees of a large technology firm that allowed odd birthday employees to WFH on Wednesday and Friday and kept even birthday employees full time in the office. There are four key results. First, WFH reduced attrition rates by 35% and improved self-reported work satisfaction scores, highlighting how employees place a considerable value on this amenity. Second, WFH reduced hours worked on home days but increased it on other work days and the weekend, highlighting how home-working alters the structure of the working week. Third, WFH employees increased individual messaging and group video call communication, even when in the office, reflecting the impact of remote work on working patterns. Finally, while there was no significant impact of WFH on performance ratings or promotions, lines of code written increased by 8%, and employees' self-assessed productivity was up 1.8%, suggesting a small positive impact. Given these benefits for retention, job satisfaction, and productivity, after the experiment ended the firm extended hybrid WFH to the entire company.

Suggested Citation

  • Bloom, Nicholas & Han, Ruobing & Liang, James, 2023. "How hybrid working from home works out," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121377, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:121377
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Mathias Dolls & Pablo Zarate, 2022. "Working from Home Around the World," EconPol Forum, CESifo, vol. 23(06), pages 38-41, November.
    2. Thomas Fackler & Michael Hofmann & Nadzeya Laurentsyeva, 2023. "Defying Gravity: What Drives Productivity in Remote Teams?," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 427, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    3. Ferdinando Monte & Charly Porcher & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2023. "Remote Work and City Structure," Working Papers 2023-016, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    4. Vij, Akshay & Souza, Flavio F. & Barrie, Helen & Anilan, V. & Sarmiento, Sergio & Washington, Lynette, 2023. "Employee preferences for working from home in Australia," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 782-800.
    5. Hilde C. Bjørnland & Malin C. Jensen & Leif Anders Thorsrud, 2023. "Business Cycle and Health Dynamics during the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Scandinavian Perspective," Working Papers No 15/2023, Centre for Applied Macro- and Petroleum economics (CAMP), BI Norwegian Business School.
    6. Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh, 2023. "The remote work revolution: Impact on real estate values and the urban environment: 2023 AREUEA Presidential Address," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 51(1), pages 7-48, January.
    7. Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Brent Meyer & Emil Mihaylov, 2022. "The Shift to Remote Work Lessens Wage-Growth Pressures," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2022-7, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    8. Natalia Emanuel & Emma Harrington, 2023. "Working Remotely? Selection, Treatment, and the Market for Remote Work," Staff Reports 1061, Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
    9. José María Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis, 2023. "The Evolution of Work from Home," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 37(4), pages 23-50, Fall.
    10. Amanda D. Ali & Lendel K. Narine & Paul A. Hill & Dominic C. Bria, 2023. "Factors Affecting Remote Workers’ Job Satisfaction in Utah: An Exploratory Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(9), pages 1-24, May.
    11. Brandon J. Restrepo & Eliana Zeballos, 2023. "Working from Home and Emotional Well-Being during Major Daily Activities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.
    12. Michele Mariani & Livia Ristuccia & Pasqualino Montanaro, 2023. "Propensity to work remotely in the Bank of Italy: a behavioural analysis," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 753, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    13. Marco Pagano & Josef Zechner, 2022. "COVID-19 and Corporate Finance [The risk of being a fallen angel and the corporate dash for cash in the midst of COVID]," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 11(4), pages 849-879.
    14. Markus Nagler & Johannes Rincke & Erwin Winkler, 2022. "How Much Do Workers Actually Value Working from Home?," CESifo Working Paper Series 10073, CESifo.
    15. Erdsiek, Daniel & Rost, Vincent, 2023. "How do managers form their expectations about working from home? Survey experiments on the perception of productivity," ZEW Discussion Papers 23-018, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    16. Julia Baumann & Anastasia Danilov & Olga Stavrova, 2023. "Self-control and Performance while Working from Home," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 486, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    17. Bellmann, Lisa & Bellmann, Lutz & Hübler, Olaf, 2023. "Labour Mobility in German Establishments during the COVID-19 Crisis: Panel Data Analyses with Special Reference to Short-Time Work and Working from Home," IZA Discussion Papers 15935, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Christian Kagerl & Julia Starzetz, 2023. "Working from home for good? Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and what this means for the future of work," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 229-265, January.
    19. Parkhomenko, Andrii & Delventhal, Matthew J, 2023. "Spatial Implications of Telecommuting in the United States," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt97q6c2rg, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    20. Gilles Duranton & Jessie Handbury, 2023. "COVID and Cities, Thus Far," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, vol. 29(2), pages 6-52, October.
    21. Alex Chernoff & Gabriela Galassi, 2023. "Digitalization: Labour Markets," Discussion Papers 2023-16, Bank of Canada.
    22. Tetsuya Tamaki & Wataru Nozawa & Akinori Kitsuki, 2024. "How did you perceive the lifestyle changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic?," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.
    23. Ameri, Mason & Kruse, Douglas L. & Park, So Ri & Rodgers, Yana van der Meulen & Schur, Lisa, 2022. "Telework during the Pandemic: Patterns, Challenges, and Opportunities for People with Disabilities," IZA Discussion Papers 15755, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    24. Jinwon Kim & Dede Long, 2022. "What Flattened the House-Price Gradient? The Role of Work-from-Home and Decreased Commuting Cost," Working Papers 2205, Nam Duck-Woo Economic Research Institute, Sogang University (Former Research Institute for Market Economy).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    hybrid working from home; graduate employees; job retention; job satisfaction;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J00 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - General

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