Working from home and labour productivity: firm-level evidence

Gaetano Basso (), Davide Dottori and Sara Formai ()
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Gaetano Basso: Bank of Italy
Sara Formai: Bank of Italy

No 1508, Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) from Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area

Abstract: This study examines the impact of working from home (WFH) on firm-level outcomes. It uses detailed survey, balance sheet and matched employer-employee data on Italian firms from before the pandemic and up to 2023. Estimates using a novel instrumental variable suggest that, on average, the effects on labour productivity, employment dynamics and composition, wages and other costs are negligible. However, the analysis shows that results are heterogeneous across firms. For some firms, whose labour productivity did not decline, the pandemic-induced shift to WFH was maintained after the emergency ended.

Keywords: working from home; firm organization; labour productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 D24 J24 J81 L23 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-11
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1508_25

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