Environmental and Urban Economics

The New Economic Geography of WFH Matthew E. Kahn Over the last three years, companies from all over the world have learned valuable information about how their firm’s productivity and worker satisfaction is affected when workers can engage in Work from Home (WFH) on at least a part-time basis. Each firm faces fundamental tradeoffs in not requiring workers to return full time to the office. On the one hand, WFH accommodates worker lifestyles and responsibilities at home. WFH workers gain from commuting less often and some may choose to live further from their place of work because they commute in on fewer days. Firms with happier workers are less likely to face retention challenges and will pay less retraining workers.