The remote work premium reconsidered

Remote work has become part of the workplace fabric across the world, but evidence on its impact on productivity and job satisfaction is often contradictory. This column argues that the debate has been framed too narrowly. Using data from PayScale and Gallup, the authors show that once compensation, occupation, and workplace environment are controlled for, as well as types of task and manager quality, the contribution of remote work is smaller and more conditional than headline comparisons suggest.