Study: Remote Work Boosts Employee Well-being and Reduces Turnover
A new study found that employees working from home reported higher well-being and left their jobs at a lower rate than office employees. No evidence was found that remote work harms communication between staff.
A new study suggests that working from home may be associated with higher well-being among employees and even a lower rate of turnover. The findings challenge the common assumption that working from the office is necessarily the best option.
According to a study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, researchers analyzed data from more than 7,700 employees at a large healthcare organization in the southwestern United States. Participants included remote workers, office workers, and employees in a hybrid format.
The data showed that remote workers recorded the highest level of well-being at work, with an average of 4.22 out of 5. They were followed by employees in a hybrid format with an average score of 4.12, while office workers recorded an average of 3.89.
"The findings point to the importance of allowing employees to work remotely if they wish to do so. Preventing the option to choose the way of working does not necessarily improve their well-being," said Stephanie Johnson, a professor of organizational psychology at the University of Colorado Boulder and one of the study's authors.
The study did not find clear evidence that remote work automatically leads to damage in communication or a weakening of the connection between employees. Remote workers even recorded a slightly higher level in metrics examining a positive connection to the workplace compared to hybrid and office workers, though the gap was not statistically significant.
The researchers noted that the quality of connection within the workplace may depend more on effective and intentional communication methods, and less on the actual presence of employees in the same physical location.
In the turnover data, a gap was also found between the groups: 7.8% of remote workers left their jobs during the following year, compared to 8.3% of employees in a hybrid format and 8.8% of office workers. Additionally, the study found a link between a higher level of well-being at work and a lower chance of leaving the workplace.
According to the researchers, the findings challenge some accepted assumptions regarding remote work and indicate that the way work and communication are organized within an organization may be more significant than the place where the work is actually performed.
