June 22, 2025
Study claims that working from home can significantly boost productivity
A new study of a large Turkish call centre provides fresh evidence that working from home can improve productivity and workforce diversity — though in-person onboarding remains crucial to long-term success. The research, conducted by economists from King’s College London, Stanford, the Paris School of Economics and the EBRD, examines Tempo BPO, a Turkish business process outsourcing company that moved fully remote in 2020. The authors include well-known remote work researchers Nick Bloom and Steven Davis, alongside Cevat Giray Aksoy, Victoria Marino, and Cem Ozguzel.
Using rich data on thousands of employees over multiple years, the paper tracks how Tempo’s shift away from the office reshaped its workforce and performance.
The firm’s new remote-first model allowed it to hire a significantly more diverse pool of workers. The share of women in the workforce rose from 50 percent to 76 percent in under three years with the biggest increases among married women. The company also attracted more university graduates, older workers, and employees based in rural areas.
These changes happened without any increase in labour costs. The ability to tap into previously underrepresented demographics – particularly in a country where female labour force participation remains under 40 percent – was cited as one of the biggest benefits of remote flexibility.
Remote work also led to clear improvements in productivity. Call centre agents handled around 10 percent more calls per hour, thanks largely to fewer distractions and reduced repetition on calls. Contrary to concerns about service levels, quality measures remained stable or even improved, according to the report.
The study found that these gains were not the result of longer working hours or increased pressure, but rather from more efficient conversations, likely due to quieter home settings and greater autonomy.
However, the study also highlights the risks of moving too fast. New employees who began their roles remotely performed well initially, but over time those who had received in-person onboarding during the pandemic outperformed their peers and were more likely to stay with the company.
Tempo has since introduced a hybrid onboarding model, bringing new hires into the office for several weeks before they begin remote work. The researchers conclude that a short initial period of face-to-face training may be vital to sustain remote success in the longer term.
While the findings are based on a single company in Turkey, the researchers argue that the implications are much broader. The study challenges the narrative that remote work must come at the cost of productivity or culture and provides practical insights into how to make it work in practice.
The full working paper, Remote Work, Employee Mix, and Performance, is available to read here.
