KU Business faculty experts discuss: Remote work

In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, hybrid and remote work environments have become the norm, with one in four employees reportedly working remotely at least some hours, according to Backlinko. But as CEOs adapt to new economic environments and technological advancements, there is a need to invest in the future. According to research from KPMG, 83% of CEOs interviewed expect employees to return to the office full-time within the next three years.  

With this shift for workers, questions have been raised about the productivity of in-person versus remote work, the benefits and risks of each and the future of work for Americans.  

Patrick Downes, associate professor in the Management and Entrepreneurship academic area, draws on past research in group and organizational management and work environments to discuss future implications of the topic. He also leverages findings from an ongoing study that he is developing using recent data collected over the past few months to discuss what a shift away from remote work may mean for businesses and employees around the country.   

Downes earned his doctoral degree in management and organizations from the University of Iowa, his master’s degree in higher education from Iowa State University and his bachelor’s degree in marketing and business administration from the University of Kansas. His research interests include employees’ social contexts and research methods applied in both social science and people analytics practice. 

Why are we seeing a shift away from remote work in 2025?

There are a few narratives that I’ve seen going on. One of those narratives is that it’s just harder to control what employees are working on and when they’re working on it. It’s much harder to communicate with them when they’re home compared to when they’re in person. So, coordinating interdependent work where employees depend on one another to get good resources that help get their job done can be a challenge that employers want to negate.  

How has remote work impacted teamwork and collaboration within organizations? 

Cohesion building, which every team has to do to establish trust among the team, is a more difficult effort when not everyone’s around. I read a recent paper about how subgroups or cliques can form while at work, so you can imagine the risk of exclusive groups in a hybrid environment. If you’re in the Monday, Wednesday, Friday group, for example, that could become a clique that doesn’t get along with the opposite group. Communication between these subgroups can also become difficult, so the biggest takeaway is that developing a sense of trust among teams is much more difficult in a virtual setting.  

What are the biggest challenges businesses face when adapting to hybrid or remote models?

Based on the popular press information I've tracked, businesses see their workforce changing a lot when adapting from remote models. If you were previously a remote work company and you call everybody back into office, certain employees who now solely work remotely will quit. This changes the composition of a workforce, which can be bumpy because you lose the knowledge that these workers have about the processing and operations of the company. Eventually, though, you will start to attract a different kind of worker who wants in-person work, and the workforce will evolve accordingly.  

Are employees who only work remotely hurting themselves now that companies are returning to in-person work models?

We’re finding that employees who work remotely routinely miss out on social interactions, both with their boss and with their peers. They get less social support at work and feel less meaning with their jobs. They also work on more independent projects, presumably because of the challenges of coordinating more interdependent and teamwork (and the pressures to do that kind of work in person).  

We’re also finding that on days when people work from home, they experience a bit of a mixed bag. They don’t get as much social support as usual, but they have fewer demands and intrusions relative to their typical in-person day. Interestingly, these one-off WFH days can lead to higher levels of anxiety and irritation for workers, perhaps due to their greater social distance on those days. 

Does returning to the office improve productivity, or is it more about management preference?

I think management sees more productivity, but I think what they are also seeing is that the low productivity people are not coming back. So, if you have 100 employees, for example, and 10 of them aren’t being productive, when you call everyone back, disproportionately, those 10 workers will not come back. Overall, it’s more of a function of the changing workforce than it is the changing motivation levels.  

How can companies foster a strong team culture in a remote or hybrid setting? 

One of the cutting-edge ideas I’ve seen related to hybrid work is being thoughtful about who is working with whom and when. I still don’t think we have a handle on this, but I think if organizations take a perspective of “how can I create work processes where people will be in at times with the right people to both feel a sense of belongingness and coordinate activities,” they can pick a schedule that gets optimal social capital.  

What are the risks of remote work for employees' career growth and development? 

Anecdotally, there are many stories floating around out there about how remote workers are getting passed over because they lack social capital. 

Recent data we’ve collected shows that remote workers aren’t as likely to go out of their way to help colleagues. In person, if a colleague is overloaded or struggling, I might be able to step in to help. That’s harder remotely because I won’t see or know about the opportunity to help, even if I’d be willing to help. This is going to affect how I’m seen as a team player, and how I’ll be considered for new leadership opportunities. 

Finally, we’re showing remote workers have fewer interactions with their bosses and thus receive less support. If bosses can’t do a “fly-by” to check in, they don’t know what you need; they don’t know what you’re dealing with; and they don’t see as many of your contributions. This places a challenge on workers to make sure they’re being proactive about making and demonstrating contributions to the workplace. 

Are there specific industries or job roles where remote work is more beneficial than others?

My theory is that it has to do with how interdependent your work is. If you can do your work independently, then remote work isn’t harmful for productivity, but if your work requires a lot of input and information and coordinating with others, it is likely to be difficult to be productive. We haven’t seen this yet in science, but it goes back to the certain conditions in which you are working.   

Looking ahead, how do you see the future of work evolving?

Remote work is here to stay for sure. One thing I think we’ll see a lot of advances in is monitoring, specifically with AI technology. One of those things is that all of our Zoom calls may start to be transcribed and stored in metadata that AI will then use to make suggestions about employees and their behaviors.  

So, I expect within the next handful of years that there will be Zoom functions where you’ll get a pop up after you finish a meeting that says “gosh, you seem de-energized after that meeting, maybe you should take a break,” or something similar to that. This may also support management initiatives, as AI-facilitated assistance can help how we supervise people and learn about their behaviors.