Post-Covid Telework and Productivity: A Large Scale Analysis

Philippe Askenazy, Ugo Di Nallo and Ramajo, Ismaël
Additional contact information
Ugo Di Nallo: Insee
Ramajo, Ismaël: Dares

No 18655, IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER

Abstract: This paper studies the causal impact of post-Covid telework on firm productivity in France, where hybrid work has become the dominant form of telework. Using matched survey and administrative data on over 6,500 firms employing three million workers, we test whether telework in 2022 relates to productivity growth from 2019 to 2022 excluding agriculture, finance and insurance, and real estate. OLS estimates show a modest positive link: a 10-percentage-point rise in telework share correlates with a 0.7-1.0 percentage-point productivity gain. To address endogeneity, we use an instrumental variable based on pre-pandemic office surface per employee in rented separate office spaces, which likely facilitated telework adoption and cost reductions. The instrument is strong, and 2SLS results indicate a sizeable LATE: a 10-point increase in telework raises productivity by about 2.7 points. Firms with separate offices also reduce obsolete space and slightly increase office equipment, suggesting additional productivity channels beyond real-estate adjustments.

Keywords: telework; productivity; office (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J52 J81 L23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://docs.iza.org/dp18655.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp18655

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IZA Discussion Papers from IZA Network @ LISER Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Mark Fallak ().