The post-pandemic push to bring workers back to the office has left many nostalgic for more flexible arrangements, such as hybrid or remote work.

But a wealth of data since the pandemic now suggests that workplace factors like feeling appreciated and having a good relationship with your manager are much more tied to job satisfaction than the actual time spent in the office.

To understand this insight, it’s important to recognize that a return to the office can mean very different things to different workers. Someone who values uninterrupted time at home may resent the commute. A younger trainee struggling to learn the job may welcome easier access to colleagues. An employee who dislikes their manager may lament having to see them in person.

These differences help explain why the return-to-office debate often produces conflicting answers.

As a researcher of the ways technology is changing the workplace, I co-authored a study with business and accounting scholar Jason Schloetzer that analyzed responses from nearly 165,000 U.S. employees between 2020 and 2023 from the database Payscale. These surveys let us look beyond location to ask whether employees felt appreciated; considered pay fair and transparent; received useful communication; had chances to develop; and enjoyed a good relationship with their manager.

Once we accounted for these and other job-specific variables, we found that the edge in satisfaction for fully or mostly remote workers disappears. The only group of employees who felt more satisfied on the job were those who sometimes worked remotely—and that difference was modest.

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