The effects of remote work on collaboration among information workers

Nat Hum Behav. 2022 Jan;6(1):43-54. doi: 10.1038/s41562-021-01196-4. Epub 2021 Sep 9.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused a rapid shift to full-time remote work for many information workers. Viewing this shift as a natural experiment in which some workers were already working remotely before the pandemic enables us to separate the effects of firm-wide remote work from other pandemic-related confounding factors. Here, we use rich data on the emails, calendars, instant messages, video/audio calls and workweek hours of 61,182 US Microsoft employees over the first six months of 2020 to estimate the causal effects of firm-wide remote work on collaboration and communication. Our results show that firm-wide remote work caused the collaboration network of workers to become more static and siloed, with fewer bridges between disparate parts. Furthermore, there was a decrease in synchronous communication and an increase in asynchronous communication. Together, these effects may make it harder for employees to acquire and share new information across the network.

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19 / prevention & control*
  • Communicable Disease Control
  • Communication*
  • Cooperative Behavior*
  • Employment*
  • Humans
  • Information Technology*
  • Organizational Policy
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Teleworking*