Working Remotely? Selection, Treatment, and the Market for Remote Work

Natalia Emanuel and Emma Harrington

American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2024, vol. 16, issue 4, 528-59

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.

JEL-codes: D22 J22 J24 J63 L84 M12 M54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1257/app.20230376

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