Work · 14 min read
A four-year study of remote teams found the office was never the problem
By M. Okafor · Updated 2 hours ago
For four years, researchers followed 1,900 people across 41 companies as they moved between offices, homes and something in between. The question was simple: does where you sit change what you ship?
The answer, it turns out, depends far less on the desk than on the calendar. Teams that protected two long blocks of focus a week shipped 23% more, whether or not they ever met in person.
Meanwhile, teams that returned to the office five days without changing how they met saw no gain at all. Several managers interviewed said the commute simply moved their meetings closer together.
The study's authors are careful. They do not claim remote work is better. They claim the debate has been about the wrong variable.
One finding cut across every company: new hires in their first six months learned faster near a senior colleague, in person or on a standing video call.