Research Shows Remote Work Can Actually Strengthen Workplace Relationships

As companies like Starbucks, Google, and Amazon double down on return-to-office (RTO) mandates, they often cite the importance of in-person interaction for building strong workplace relationships. But groundbreaking new research from Dr. Beth Schinoff and colleagues challenges this assumption, suggesting that remote work might actually enhance workplace connections in unique and valuable ways.

For a deeper dive into Dr. Schinoff's insights and personal perspective on this research, check out our in-depth interview with Dr. Schinoff where she shares the story behind this groundbreaking study.

The Research Behind the Findings

The research team took a comprehensive multi-method approach to studying how remote work affects workplace relationships:

1. Analysis of Real-World Data: They analyzed over 68,000 online comments, including:
   • 8,150 Reddit comments
   • 5,772 Twitter posts
   • 14,625 LinkedIn comments
   • 40,551 comments across 10 news stories
2. Critical Incident Study: They collected 286 detailed accounts from full-time U.S. employees about specific instances of learning about coworkers while working remotely.
3. Controlled Experiments: Two large-scale experiments were conducted:
   • Study 1 with 1,244 participants
   • Study 2 with 413 participants

Key Findings: The Three Dimensions of Remote Connection

The research identified three critical dimensions that make remote work interactions particularly powerful for relationship building:

1. Vividness

Remote work allows us to literally see into our colleagues' lives through video calls, creating more engaging and memorable interactions than simply hearing about their personal lives secondhand. As Dr. Schinoff explains in her interview: "You're in it with the coworker... You're not being told it happened - you're actually seeing it unfold and participating in that moment."

2. Unintentional Sharing

When information is shared organically (like when a child walks into frame during a video call) rather than deliberately, it's often viewed as more authentic. The researchers found this unplanned vulnerability actually strengthens workplace bonds.

3. Non-work Context

Remote work provides natural opportunities to learn about colleagues' lives outside of work, helping us see them as complete human beings. This happens in ways that would be impossible in an office setting, where personal context is often limited to family photos on a desk or weekend stories filtered for workplace appropriateness.

The Science Behind the Connection

The study found that when these three elements combine - as they often do in remote work settings - employees are more likely to view their colleagues as:

• More authentic: Seeing unfiltered glimpses of coworkers' lives increases perceptions of genuineness
• More trustworthy: Unintentional vulnerability breeds reciprocal trust
• More fundamentally human: Seeing colleagues in their home context helps emphasize their full humanity

These perceptions, in turn, motivate employees to invest more deeply in both personal and professional relationships with their coworkers.

Implications for Organizations

Rethink Return-to-Office Justifications

If the goal is to build stronger workplace relationships, mandatory return-to-office policies may be counterproductive. The research suggests that the "relationship building" justification for RTO policies needs serious reconsideration.

Of course, many of us in the remote community already knew this to be true, but it’s exciting to have a study to back up our individual lived experiences!

Create Intentional Connection Opportunities

This study is based on unplanned moments of connection so of course those cannot be forced or manufactured, but leaders can and should build cultures that allow for them to happen. However, as Schinoff notes in her interview, this needs to be done thoughtfully: "Not every meeting needs to have a relationship-building goal, but some do. When you're working remotely, you have to be more intentional about making that a goal."

In-person interactions require less intention. If you put people in a room, they are probably going to talk. In a remote setting, people have the choice to not engage so crafting a culture where people choose connection is key.

The Path Forward: A More Nuanced Approach

It's a delicate balancing act for leaders to allow space for authentic connection without making team bonding feel like another mandatory task on an overflowing to-do list.

For organizations, this means:

1. Being Strategic: Develop nuanced approaches that match work arrangements to actual task and relationship needs, not blanket policies based on executive comfort levels.
2. Embracing Authenticity: Create cultures that welcome, rather than apologize for, the natural intersection of work and personal life in remote settings. The days of "Sorry about my dog" should be replaced with "Let me introduce you to Max, who clearly has opinions about this marketing strategy.”
3. Supporting Connection: Provide tools and norms that enable meaningful remote relationship building in both a work and non-work context.
4. Challenging Assumptions: Question the prevailing narrative that in-person work is always better for relationships. The evidence suggests it's more complicated—and more interesting—than that.

The Bottom Line

While in-person interaction certainly has value, remote work creates unique opportunities for authentic connection that simply can't be replicated in even the most carefully designed office environment.

As organizations continue navigating the future of work, they would do well to consider Dr. Schinoff's conclusion: "The decision to return to office can't solely be about building better and stronger relationships because working from home can benefit coworker relationships in ways that working in the office cannot."

The unplanned moments of authenticity that occur in remote work settings—from pets wandering into frame to children sharing exciting achievements—create a type of connection that stands in stark contrast to the carefully curated personas we often maintain in traditional offices. By recognizing and embracing these moments rather than seeing them as disruptions, organizations can build stronger, more authentic workplace relationships that transcend physical location.

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