As companies and employees continue to debate whether in-office or remote work is superior, the evidence shows the benefits lost when offices went quiet.

For example, a survey conducted by Robin Powered found 73% of respondents started feeling more connected to their company when in the office with colleagues. In the same vein, Cisco’s research highlights some broader social and collaborative benefits of physical workplaces. They report that 74% of professionals value in-person interaction and socialization, 71% value collaboration, 53% more enjoy brainstorming and 46% feel a sense of belonging. Together, these factors contribute to a positive work environment, which, in turn, has long-term benefits for all companies and employees.

In 2023, a study titled “Work from Home and Productivity: Evidence from Personnel and Analytics Data on Information Technology Professionals” by Gibbs et al. researched productivity and efficiency in remote work. In this study, a key finding was that remote work had a major drawback: productivity decreased by 8-19% for those working from home, while average daily working hours increased from 1.6 to 2.1. These trends highlight a decrease in overall efficiency, with employees working longer but with less success.

One of the most important elements of the work-from-home or in-person debate is how parents are affected by their children when at home. Especially with younger kids around during the day, this can distract remote-working parents and the Gibbs study shows a decrease in productivity. Employees without kids can still be distracted by roommates or just not feel as much pressure, since there’s no boss watching them like there is in an office.

In addition, this study shows that networking is also profoundly affected by working from home, with a major decrease in cross-team and external interactions. In general, there were about 7.6 fewer internal contacts per employee every 28 days.

Collaboration also weakened, with 1-on-1 meetings with managers becoming less common. These reductions are particularly important because, without 1-on-1 meetings with more experienced employees, mentorship is less effective and new employees are likely to have a harder time acclimating to the job.

Overall, research consistently reveals that in-person work has a greater capacity to strengthen employees’ connections, collaboration and engagement. While during COVID-19 it was necessary to dramatically shift to working from home, the pandemic has been over for three years. As companies reassess their workplace models, it’s important to remember a simple truth. People work better when they are together.

When people think of work, they think of long hours, waking up early and lethargic adults dragging themselves into a small, enclosed cubicle for 8 hours.

According to Forbes, employees feel more empowered when they can control their own schedules, which makes them more productive. This also leads them to have better morale and attitude when going about their work, as well as having better communication with their colleagues. As shown in a 2015 survey, which found that 77% of remote employees had better productivity and 30% said they got more done in less time.

Additionally, working from home allows businesses to broaden their talent pool. When businesses cater to all types of employees, including international employees, they attract a wide range of people, helping their business thrive. When employers make jobs more accessible, the employees have more flexibility and space to thrive.

According to The University of Pennsylvania, more employees working from home means fewer resources can be allocated to operational expenses such as maintenance and utilities. In turn, this money can go toward different areas such as technological advancements and professional development. Many surveys also report that remote workers experience greater productivity and fewer distractions than in the office, which boosts morale and creates a better sense of autonomy and trust.

Working in the office has some pros, but working at home creates a much better environment for employees, which benefits the business and keeps everyone happy. When employees don’t feel the burden of going into the office, they are more productive and business gets better.