Study of 7,700 Employees Shows Remote Work Boosts Happiness and Reduces Turnover

Researchers have found that fully remote work provides the highest level of emotional and physical well-being for employees, while mandatory office presence shows the worst outcomes. According to a large-scale study published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Psychology, a high level of comfort in remote work reduces the likelihood of an employee quitting by 29%.

The study involved 7,704 employees of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a major medical and research institution. The authors divided the sample into three groups: 1,869 fully remote workers, 2,099 hybrid workers, and 3,736 employees who worked exclusively on-site.

Well-Being Assessment and Debunking the Isolation Myth

Experts assessed respondents’ psychological, physical, social, and financial well-being on a 5-point scale. The average scores showed a statistically significant difference:

• 4.22 points — fully remote format;
• 4.12 points — hybrid mode;
• 3.89 points — full-time office work.

The researchers attribute the advantage of remote work to high autonomy: the ability to flexibly plan the workday, set up personal space, and eliminate distracting office factors.

The data also debunked the stereotype of professional isolation when working from home: 61% of remote workers, 58% of hybrid workers, and only 55% of office workers reported a strong sense of connection to their team and company culture.

Turnover Check After a Year and a Challenge to RTO Policies

As reported by the business publication Fortune, the authors conducted a follow-up audit of HR data after 12 months to record actual resignations.

Turnover among remote workers was the lowest — 7.8% compared to 8.3% for hybrid staff and 8.8% for office staff. The analysis showed that each additional point on the personal well-being scale reduces the risk of an employee voluntarily leaving the company by 29% (odds ratio 0.71).

The study’s findings challenge corporate policies of mandatory return to the office (Return-To-Office), which top executives often justify by the need to strengthen team collaboration. The actual measurements proved that the key factor in retaining valuable talent is not physical presence at a desk, but the overall psychological well-being of the employee.