Remote Work, Employee Mix, and Performance

Asena Kayhan - Marmara University 

 

Date: December 25, 2024

Time: 11:00

Location: Faculty of Business Administration, 5th Floor - Meeting Room

 

Abstract

How does a permanent transition to remote work affect workforce composition and firm-level outcomes? We address this question using administrative panel data from 2019 to 2022, collected from a large call center that abruptly shifted to permanent remote work due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Our findings reveal that the move to remote work significantly changed the employee composition, increasing the proportion of older and more educated workers, while also broadening the labor pool to include traditionally underrepresented groups in Türkiye’s workforce, such as married women and individuals living outside urban areas. Additionally, agent productivity saw a notable increase, with employees processing more calls per hour. This productivity gain was driven by shorter call durations, reduced talk time and administrative tasks, and fewer breaks, without sacrificing call quality. Employees who were high performers in the office maintained their strong performance in the remote setting, while less productive workers experienced the most significant productivity improvements, suggesting a potential equalizing effect. Moreover, those with prior in-office experience improved their performance faster than those who began working remotely, indicating that initial in-office experience may accelerate learning.