The Secret to Remote Work That Actually Performs

The debate around remote work has reached a fever pitch, especially across public sector institutions and large enterprises wrestling with post-pandemic workplace norms. As some federal and state agencies—and many corporations—move to reinstate mandatory full-time office attendance, they risk discarding one of the most transformative advantages modern work has to offer. A groundbreaking new National Bureau of Economics working paper from Cevat Aksoy (University College London), Nicholas Bloom (Stanford University), Steven Davis (Stanford University), Robinson Victoria (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development), and Cem Özgüzel (Université Paris) provides empirical evidence that remote work, far from being a compromise, offers a powerful tool for boosting performance and inclusion, with a particularly positive impact if it begins with in-person onboarding.

The study, grounded in detailed administrative data from a 3,500-employee call center in Türkiye, delivers a clear message: fully remote work can significantly raise productivity and broaden recruitment pipelines, especially in underserved or geographically remote populations. After shifting to fully remote operations during the pandemic, the firm—Tempo BPO—experienced a 10 percent boost in calls handled per hour. This wasn’t the result of longer hours or fewer breaks. Rather, the improvement stemmed from quieter home environments and more efficient communication dynamics. Most strikingly, service quality remained stable or slightly improved, reinforcing that these productivity gains were not achieved at the expense of customer satisfaction.

More than that, remote work dramatically expanded Tempo’s talent pool. By eliminating geographic barriers, the company hired more women—particularly married women—and tapped into smaller towns and rural areas previously off-limits due to commuting constraints. The percentage of female employees surged from 50 percent to 76 percent within three years, a remarkable leap in a country where female labor force participation hovers around 35 percent. Better educated and more experienced workers were drawn in as well, all without driving up costs—thanks to a flat wage structure across locations.

This model mirrors the success seen in several U.S. federal agencies that leaned into remote work. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), for instance, has long operated a robust telework program that enables employees to work fully remotely after initial training. Its results speak volumes: high productivity, low attrition, and one of the most effective workforces in federal service. It’s no coincidence that these outcomes parallel the structure proven effective in the Tempo study.

The researchers also offer a critical nuance: remote work succeeds best when it begins with in-person onboarding. Employees at Tempo who had three months of face-to-face training before transitioning to fully remote roles demonstrated stronger long-term performance and significantly higher retention compared to those who started remotely. Initially, remote starters showed quick productivity gains, likely from a faster entry into autonomous work. But over time, their performance plateaued while their in-person counterparts surpassed them—both in productivity and in staying power.

This finding sheds light on a pivotal structural detail that many organizations overlook. In-person onboarding provides not only technical skills but also the cultural immersion, peer learning, and informal mentorship that are vital for long-term success. For remote work to deliver its full potential, these early interactions must be in place. Otherwise, the isolation and steep learning curves associated with remote starts can erode the very gains organizations hope to achieve.

Federal agencies that have succeeded with remote work have long understood this principle. They embed structured, in-person training periods into remote-ready roles, ensuring that employees develop a strong foundation before transitioning to full-time remote environments. As more agencies abandon these models in favor of rigid return-to-office mandates, they risk undermining their own institutional knowledge, workforce stability, and ability to compete for talent.

Mandating full-time in-office work ignores a growing body of professional performance data that shows remote work can outperform traditional models under the right conditions. Organizations that impose blanket RTO policies are not just facing potential morale issues; they’re actively weakening their recruiting and retention capabilities. The Tempo study reveals that employees who benefit most from remote work—those previously constrained by geography, family obligations, or office-based distractions—are also the ones most likely to leave if their flexibility is revoked.

State and local agencies, many of which struggle to attract and retain high-quality talent, have even more at stake. By forcing a full RTO, they forfeit the opportunity to engage broader labor pools, including highly qualified candidates from rural communities or those balancing caregiving responsibilities. In a time of tightening budgets and escalating service demands, giving up these advantages seems not only shortsighted but counterproductive.

Private companies, too, should take heed. While some high-profile firms experiment with in-person mandates, the evidence increasingly shows that remote work—when paired with intentional onboarding and inclusive hiring strategies—can yield stronger, more diverse teams without compromising output. The early gains observed in Tempo’s remote workforce became sustainable only because of a foundational investment in training and human connection.

What the National Bureau of Economic Research paper underscores is a need for nuance in remote work policy—not a binary choice between office and home, but a thoughtful design of hybrid systems that align with how people learn, perform, and thrive. Policymakers and organizational leaders should resist the allure of one-size-fits-all mandates and instead build models that reflect what the data makes clear: remote work works, but only if it starts right.

For government agencies aiming to modernize, or private firms hoping to boost performance without ballooning costs, the formula is now well-documented. Begin with in-person onboarding. Create structures for remote cohesion. Leverage the full range of geographic and demographic talent. Anything less is a missed opportunity.

As labor markets evolve and the post-pandemic dust settles, this insight couldn’t be timelier. Remote work isn’t a concession. Done correctly, it’s a competitive advantage. And the smartest organizations will be those that recognize its power—and implement it with purpose.