#18
 Remote work
fact checking report
#20

False

The more you work remotely, the more satisfied you are with your job

False:

Overall, this evidence suggests that more hours spent working remotely does not necessarily lead to more job satisfaction as remote employees were more satisfied when working remotely only some of the time. Working remotely all the time may actually reduce job satisfaction. Also, studies have shown that it’s not necessarily working remotely that explains job satisfaction but the mediating factors in between, such as relationships with colleagues and work autonomy.

That being said, however, a large number of employees do want to continue working from home at least some of the time, and believe that this would make them happier, and more satisfied with their jobs.

Evidence for:

Generally, much academic evidence supports the idea that working remotely leads to more job satisfaction42. Furthermore, some studies even found this effect to be more prominent for women than for men83, because it allows women to dedicate more time to caring responsibilities at home84.

Importantly, now that many employees have had the chance to experience working from home following the COVID-19 pandemic, a professional study conducted by OWL Labs in collaboration with Global Workplace Analytics found that 77% of over 2,000 US respondents stated that having the ability to work from home following the pandemic would make them happier3. In fact, 1 in 2 respondents claimed that they will not return to a job that does not offer the option to work remotely.

Evidence against:

Of course having the option to work remotely, and actually doing so all of the time are not the same things, and some academics caution about making sweeping generalisations about the benefits of remote work for job satisfaction. One study found that job satisfaction increases as remote working time increases but only up to about 15 hours per week - after which job satisfaction may decline51. More recent professional research supports these findings, with Gallup research demonstrating that those who work remotely 60-80% of the time have higher well-being than those who work in one place all of the time14. Other studies suggest that other factors may play a role in explaining whether remote working leads to more job satisfaction or not - such as, good relationships with co-workers85, 86, 87, compatible co-workers88, the level of autonomy a remote worker has over their work44, 89, etc.