The Impact of Workplace Flexibility on Performance Metrics

Excited to share my latest in Gallup: Remote workers are working fewer hours (not just commuting less), but productivity tells a more nuanced story. My new research using American Time Use Survey (ATUS) data shows that full-time employees in remote-capable jobs logged about one hour less per day in 2022 compared to 2019. Some groups -- notably single men over 45 -- cut back even more, by over two hours. The bulk of that time shifted to leisure, not just to commute savings. Does this mean productivity is falling? Not necessarily. To understand the implications for productivity, I build a Roy sorting model and study how people self-select into different industries and remote versus non-remote jobs. I find that output per worker ticked upward -- not because remote-intensive roles became more efficient, but because workers were better able to sort into jobs that suited their talents and preferences. Put differently, companies that broke geographic hiring constraints accessed stronger talent pools, offsetting reductions in logged hours. But the benefits are uneven. For younger or newer employees, in-person collaboration still delivers spillover gains that remote work can’t replicate. And culture remains the ultimate driver: data continues to show job satisfaction is explained far more by feeling appreciated, receiving clear communication, and strong management than by location alone (cc the work with Jason Schloetzer where we study corporate culture). So, flexibility can helps, but management quality determines whether remote work is an advantage or a liability. And for a voluminous body of evidence on this point, just read any of the empirical management papers by Nick Bloom, Raffaella Sadun, or John Van Reenen. Hybrid work is here to stay, but they’re no substitute for strong leadership and intentional culture. Companies that treat flexibility as a perk without aligning it to outcomes, trust, and role fit risk erosion of engagement over time. Those that integrate it strategically stand to gain a competitive edge. #RemoteWork #HybridWork #FutureOfWork #Productivity #TalentStrategy #Leadership #Culture #Gallup #EmployeeEngagement https://lnkd.in/eSUiR3AJ

What's the relationship between company flexibility and revenue growth? For the first time we have an answer. The hottest debate on remote work is about productivity. Some CEOs have been adamant that remote workers aren't productive. Employees feel just as strongly that the opposite is true. Through a Flex Index <> Boston Consulting Group (BCG) collaboration, we analyzed the 3 year revenue growth of 554 public companies between 2020 and 2022. To account for industry differences in high- and low-growth sectors, we then normalized each company's growth rate based on its industry growth rate. What did we find? Companies that are Fully Flexible -- meaning they do not require time in office -- outperformed their peers by 16 percentage points in revenue growth between 2020-2022. Companies that are Structured Hybrid -- meaning they require some time in office, but not full time -- outperformed their Full Time In Office peers by 2x. Why does this matter? Executive teams and board rooms are regularly discussing flexible work policies. Now a CFO can go to a CEO or Board and say: (1) There is no data that public companies offering work location flexibility underperform. In fact, there is data that public companies offering work location flexibility are growing revenue faster than those that do not. (2) Offering work location flexibility enables us to attract more candidates, retain more employees, and drive higher employee engagement. (3) Offering work location flexibility also saves us cost on real estate footprint. That's a powerful argument, and one that will drive more and more companies to adopt work location flexibility over time. Link to the full research: https://lnkd.in/ech_NUG2. And a big thank you to Debbie Lovich, Rosie Sargeant, and the BCG team that we collaborated with on the analysis! #futureofwork #flexibleworking #remotework

✨ RTO flexibility isn’t just about employee preference—it’s about performance. At Cushman & Wakefield, our Experience per Square Foot™ research shows just how powerful choice can be: 🙂 #WorkplaceExperience scores jump +36 percentage points with location choice and +30pp with schedule choice. 🙌🏾 Employees reporting they’re doing their best work rise +42pp with location choice and +32pp with schedule choice. 👌🏼 #Wellbeing increases +32pp with location choice and +28pp with schedule choice. And the business case is just as strong. Brian Elliott and Work Forward just released the Q3 2025 Flex Report. They reported where the Flex Index and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) analyzed 493 public companies from 2019–2024 and found that flexible companies outperform #mandate-driven peers. 📈 Fully Flexible firms grew revenues 1.7x faster. 📊 Even after adjusting for industry and size, growth rates were 34% higher. The evidence is clear: #flexibility directly improves both #EmployeeExperience and #BusinessPerformance. #FutureOfWork #RTO #WorkplaceStrategy #Leadership

🚀 Hybrid Work: The Future or Just Hype? New Study Reveals All! 🚀 The WFH, Remote, vs Hybrid debate is more relevant than ever, and a recent Nature paper by economist Nick Bloom offers insightful data from the front lines. Having experienced the spectrum of work environments myself, from traditional in-office at BAASS, Instapage to global hybrid settings at Oracle, I've seen firsthand how flexible work models can enhance productivity and employee engagement. Here’s what the study found: 📊 Performance Unaffected: Even working 2 days a week from home, employee and firm performance stayed strong—mirroring my days at Oracle, working from airports to client offices globally. 💰 Cost Savings: Hybrid models reduced quit rates by a third, echoing my time at Instapage where shifting to hybrid post-pandemic retained talent and cut costs. 🌟 Enhanced Diversity: Largest quit reductions were seen among women and those with long commutes—crucial for sectors like tech, where I’ve pushed for more inclusive policies. 🔄 Managerial Insights: Initially skeptical, managers found a +1% productivity increase in hybrid settings, similar to our discoveries transitioning at Instapage. 🔗 Why 80% of US and European companies now favor hybrid (Flex Index) is clear. Let's base our WFH debates on data, not just anecdotes! 👇 Have you seen similar benefits in your hybrid experiences? Share your story or thoughts below! https://lnkd.in/g_YdS6t4

I recently spoke with Hailey Mensik of WorkLife News about a new report from Scoop and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) that found #flexible companies outperform those with more restrictive work policies. One compelling stat shows 20% revenue growth from 2020-2022 at companies without in-office requirements compared to just 5% at those companies with hybrid or fully in-person arrangements.     We’re not surprised that companies that have embraced #flexiblework models are outperforming those who have not. As I said in the article, “This research is dollars and cents data,” and it reflects and validates what we’ve been finding for the past ten years in our research: flexibility drives business outcomes.   Like our research, the Scoop/BCG data points to the increasing need to bring leaders and employees together to reimagine how, when, and where we work. Addressing the current divide is key to moving forward in a way that benefits both the business AND its people:   “There is a gap between the employees working flexibly that did translate into operational growth, and the way leaders are seeing flexibility, that is going to stand in the way of leaders being able to prepare their organizations to be future ready.”     #remotework #hybridwork #returntowork #returntooffice #talentretention #employeeengagement #workflex #flexiblework #flexibleworkplaces #workplaceflexibility #highperformanceflexibiity #futureofwork #reimaginework https://lnkd.in/gQSn8hkN