Hybrid Workers Were Put to the Test Against Fully In-Office Employees — Here's Who Came Out On Top Productivity barely changed whether employees were in the office or not. However, hybrid workers reported better job satisfaction than in-office workers.
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- A study publicized last week in the Harvard Business Review looked at two modes of work, hybrid and onsite, and determined that there was no measurable difference in productivity between the two.
- Hybrid workers reported better job satisfaction and lower quit rates.
- Recent return-to-work mandates from companies like Amazon emphasize the benefits of onsite work.
When Amazon CEO Andy Jassy mandated that workers return to the office full-time in January, he said working in the office five days a week would strengthen the company's culture and better connect teams.
And while Amazon's internal research showed that it was easier to strengthen work culture while in person, a new study published in the scientific journal Nature found that hybrid work may actually have a slight advantage over in-person work — and drive positive, measurable outcomes.
Data from the six-month experiment revealed "no differences in productivity, performance review grade, or promotion" between the two groups, the study's authors wrote in an article last week for the Harvard Business Review.
Related: Remote Walmart Employees Question Return-to-Office Policy, Some Opt to Quit Instead of Relocating
Instead, a hybrid schedule led to measurable improvements in quit rates and job satisfaction.
"We found that hybrid working improved job satisfaction and reduced quit rates by one-third," they elaborated in their research paper, published in June. "The reduction in quit rates was significant for non-managers, female employees, and those with long commutes."
Managers also reported that before the six months, they thought hybrid work would decrease their productivity by an average of 2.6%. After the study, though, the same group stated that their productivity increased by an average of 1%.
The study involved more than 1,600 employees of Trip.com, a $44 billion travel services company based in China. The employees volunteered for the study and were a fraction of Trip.com's overall pool of 40,000 employees. They belonged to a variety of teams ranging from engineering to marketing, and they included managers and non-managerial employees.
Over six months from August 2021 to January 2022, the study participants were randomly divided into an onsite work group and a hybrid work group — they either went into the office every day or went in on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays.
Related: How to Spark Some Spontaneity in Your Hybrid Work Environment
The study's authors found that hybrid work succeeded so well at Trip.com because top management supported it, including the CEO. The company also made its hybrid work days consistent across teams so no one was coming in person to work at an empty office.
The study's findings are interesting in light of recent return-to-work mandates, which often tout the benefits of onsite work. Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman said in a leaked meeting that there were other companies Amazon employees could work for if they didn't like the return-to-office policy and that nine out of ten people he spoke to were "actually quite excited by this change."
Matt Garman. Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP
Over 500 employees signed a letter last week to protest Garman's comments, stating that they "have not only personal experience that shows the benefits of remote work, but have seen the extensive data which supports that experience."
Dell also implemented a five-day return-to-office plan for sales staff in September, leaving some employees scrambling to meet expectations. Remote Walmart employees were told in August that they would have to return to the office, leading some to quit.
