How Do Different Remote Work Arrangements Impact Employee Job Satisfaction and Retention?

We study how working remotely impacts employee job satisfaction and retention using unique data on the remote work arrangements of nearly 165,000 employees. Our findings show that the positive association between working remotely more frequently and job satisfaction diminishes substantially after controlling for employee compensation, occupation, demographics, and workplace characteristics (e.g., feeling appreciated at work). Moreover, remote work is associated with a higher intention to leave the firm after considering these other factors. This suggests that workplace characteristics beyond remote work have a more consequential association with job satisfaction and retention than remote work itself. Using variation in job tasks and worker–manager relationships, we find that working remotely more frequently confers higher job satisfaction for employees in low-coordination roles or those who perceive their direct supervisors unfavorably. The findings suggest that remote work plays a more limited role in shaping job satisfaction and retention relative to broader workplace characteristics, and that its value depends on how well work arrangements are matched to employees’ strengths, coordination requirements, and managerial context. This paper was accepted by Shiva Rajgopal, accounting. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2024.07017 .