7.4% of American workers are teleworking because of COVID, down from a pandemic era high around 35%, according to federal data.

State of play: The convenience of hybrid working is being tempered by the limits of virtual collaboration, which empirical data are now starting to identify.

One University of Chicago study found that remote workers put in longer hours but were less productive — effects that were especially pronounced among parents. Workers spent more time in meetings, the study found, but lost out on important face time with their managers.

A September 2021 study of Microsoft workers found that the software giant’s business units became “less interconnected” over time, and that an over-reliance on email and messaging made it “more difficult for workers to convey and/or converge on the meaning of complex information.”