Study suggests that young employees, particularly women, face unique challenges when working from home

The COVID-19 pandemic may be over, but remote work continues to be a popular choice for many U.S. employees. In fact, forty-one percent of employees who have the option to work remotely choose to do so part of the week.

Executives have differing opinions on remote work, with some arguing that less time in the office leads to decreased collaboration, weaker relationships with colleagues, and fewer learning opportunities. However, a new study titled “The Power of Proximity to Coworkers” suggests that there is some validity to these concerns.

Authored by Harvard economist Amanda Pallais, the paper explores the impact of working remotely on teamwork and collaborations. The study reveals that employees, particularly younger ones and women, experience setbacks in their career growth and development when working from home.

According to Pallais, “We see that young workers learn more when they are working near their co-workers. This leads to more promotions, pay raises, and top evaluations in the long run.” The research, conducted in collaboration with Natalia Emanuel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Emma Harrington of the University of Iowa, focused on a group of software engineers at a Fortune 500 company.

The study found that engineers who work in the same building as their teammates receive significantly more online feedback on their work compared to those with teammates in different buildings. In particular, young women are more likely to seek assistance and ask questions when working in person, leading to better programming outcomes. However, in remote work scenarios, this dynamic disappears.

The lack of feedback in remote settings increases the likelihood of younger employees quitting. The study found that engineers under 30 are five times more likely to quit when working remotely compared to when they have in-person interaction with their coworkers. Female engineers also experience a four-fold increase in the likelihood of quitting.

Pallais emphasized that this issue may be even more challenging for individuals starting their careers during the pandemic. She stated, “It may be even harder for workers who started jobs during the pandemic to collaborate with their teammates and ask for help.”

The study also revealed a tradeoff in terms of productivity. For senior engineers, working on-site resulted in a 21% reduction in coding output, likely due to spending more time providing feedback to younger colleagues. Again, women saw the greatest impact in this situation.

Pallais suggested that a hybrid model, where employees work in the office for a portion of the week, might be the best solution. She explained, “If workers are coming into the office three days a week, young workers will be able to learn more if they are coming in on the same days as their coworkers than if they aren’t in the office at the same time.”

This story is published courtesy of the Harvard Gazette, Harvard University’s official newspaper. For additional university news, visit Harvard.edu.

 

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