Remote workers report the highest well-being in study of 7,700 employees
Remote workers report the highest well-being in study of 7,700 employees
一项针对 7,700 名员工的研究显示：远程办公者幸福感最高
Published: 8/12/2026 • By Katy Marquardt Hill 发布日期：2026年8月12日 • 作者：Katy Marquardt Hill
For years, many employers have worried that work-from-home arrangements leave employees isolated, disconnected from coworkers and more likely to leave their jobs. But according to a new study, remote workers are doing better than many employers realize. 多年来，许多雇主一直担心居家办公安排会让员工感到孤立、与同事脱节，并更有可能离职。但根据一项最新研究，远程办公者的状态比许多雇主意识到的要好。
Researchers analyzed survey data from 7,704 employees at a large healthcare organization. One pattern stood out: Employees who worked fully remotely reported the highest levels of well-being, while those who worked entirely onsite reported the lowest. The study also found little evidence that remote workers felt less connected to colleagues or workplace culture. 研究人员分析了一家大型医疗机构 7,704 名员工的调查数据。一个模式非常突出：完全远程办公的员工报告的幸福感水平最高，而完全在办公室工作的员工幸福感最低。该研究还发现，几乎没有证据表明远程办公者会感到与同事或职场文化的联系减弱。
“This suggests you let people work remotely if they want to work remotely,” said Stefanie Johnson, professor of organizational leadership and information analytics at the Leeds School of Business and co-author of the study, published in July 2026 in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. “Taking away people’s choice of how they work is probably not going to help them in terms of their well-being.” “这表明，如果员工想远程办公，就应该让他们远程办公，”利兹商学院组织领导力与信息分析教授、该研究的合著者 Stefanie Johnson 表示。该研究于 2026 年 7 月发表在《心理学前沿》（Frontiers in Psychology）期刊上。“剥夺人们选择工作方式的权利，对他们的幸福感可能并无益处。”
As companies continue to debate remote work, many leaders worry that employees need to be in the office to stay connected, work well together and remain committed to their organization. Johnson said the research doesn’t always support those concerns. 随着各公司继续争论远程办公问题，许多领导者担心员工需要待在办公室才能保持联系、高效协作并对组织保持忠诚。Johnson 表示，研究结果并不总是支持这些担忧。
“The data from our study and others suggest remote and hybrid work result in better outcomes than return-to-office mandates,” she said. “Leaders are not making decisions based on data. I think they are just returning to what they are used to.” “我们和其他研究的数据表明，远程和混合办公带来的结果比强制要求返回办公室更好，”她说。“领导者们并非基于数据做出决策。我认为他们只是回归到了自己习惯的模式中。”
Rethinking remote work
重新思考远程办公
Johnson, who co-authored the study with Alyssa Lezcano, Stephanie Zajac and Courtney Holladay of the MD Anderson Leadership Institute in Houston, said the results surprised her. She thought employees who split their time between home and the office might have the best of both worlds. Johnson 与休斯顿 MD 安德森领导力研究所的 Alyssa Lezcano、Stephanie Zajac 和 Courtney Holladay 共同完成了这项研究。她表示，研究结果令她感到惊讶。她原本以为，在家庭和办公室之间分配时间的员工可能会获得两全其美的效果。
“I actually thought you would be happiest if you were part time out of the office,” she said. “Then every once in a while you get to see people, get that human connection.” Instead, the data pointed in a different direction. “我原本以为兼职远程办公的人会最快乐，”她说。“因为这样偶尔能见到同事，获得人际连接。”然而，数据指向了不同的方向。
Among employees in the study, well-being was highest for fully remote workers, followed by hybrid employees and then onsite workers. The findings also cast doubt on one of the main arguments for bringing employees back to the office: that people need to be together in person to feel connected. 在参与研究的员工中，完全远程办公者的幸福感最高，其次是混合办公员工，最后是办公室办公员工。这些发现也对要求员工返回办公室的主要论点之一提出了质疑：即人们必须面对面相处才能感到彼此连接。
Employees in the study were asked to describe their organization’s culture in a handful of words. Remote workers were slightly more likely than their hybrid and onsite peers to use words associated with teamwork, inclusion and support. 研究中的员工被要求用几个词来描述他们组织的文化。与混合办公和办公室办公的同事相比，远程办公者稍微更倾向于使用与团队合作、包容和支持相关的词汇。
“People who are remote actually said more things that indicated they had more positive connections, even though they were remote,” Johnson said. “远程办公的人实际上表达了更多迹象，表明他们拥有更积极的人际连接，尽管他们身处远程，”Johnson 说。
Still, Johnson said face-to-face interaction can play an important role in helping coworkers build relationships, especially if they are just starting out in their careers. “Remote works better after you know people,” she said. “So there is still a benefit of having some face time.” 不过，Johnson 也指出，面对面的互动在帮助同事建立关系方面可以发挥重要作用，尤其是对于职业生涯刚起步的人来说。“在了解彼此之后，远程办公的效果会更好，”她说。“因此，保留一定的面对面时间仍然是有益的。”
Staying power
留任能力
The researchers also examined employee turnover one year after the survey was completed. They found that employees with higher well-being were less likely to leave the organization. Work location itself was not a strong direct predictor of turnover. Instead, remote work was associated with higher well-being, which in turn was associated with lower turnover. 研究人员还调查了调查完成一年后的员工离职情况。他们发现，幸福感较高的员工离职的可能性更小。工作地点本身并不是离职的强直接预测因素。相反，远程办公与更高的幸福感相关，而更高的幸福感又与更低的离职率相关。
“It makes sense. If you have higher well-being, you’re less likely to leave your job,” Johnson said. Participants completed the workplace survey in 2023, and researchers compared those responses with actual turnover records one year later. Of the employees surveyed, roughly half worked onsite, with the remainder split between hybrid and fully remote arrangements. “这很有道理。如果你有更高的幸福感，你就更不容易离职，”Johnson 说。参与者在 2023 年完成了职场调查，研究人员将这些回复与一年后的实际离职记录进行了对比。在受访员工中，大约一半在办公室工作，其余的则在混合办公和完全远程办公之间分配。
Flexibility matters
灵活性至关重要
The study did not explore why remote workers reported higher well-being, but Johnson points to a growing body of research on autonomy and flexibility. One explanation is that remote workers have greater control over their work setup and daily schedule, she said. 该研究并未深入探讨为何远程办公者报告的幸福感更高，但 Johnson 指出了关于自主性和灵活性的研究正日益增多。她表示，一种解释是远程办公者对工作环境和日常时间表拥有更大的控制权。
“If you have control over your environment, you tend to have more positive outcomes,” she said. Working from home can also eliminate many everyday stressors. “Spending a lot of time in traffic is negatively related to well-being,” Johnson said. “There are so many little stressors associated with being in the office.” “如果你能掌控自己的环境，往往会产生更积极的结果，”她说。居家办公还可以消除许多日常压力源。“花大量时间在交通上与幸福感呈负相关，”Johnson 说。“在办公室工作会带来许多细小的压力。”
Those stressors can include arranging child care, hiring help for pets or managing the logistics of getting to and from work, she said. Johnson said the study points to a broader lesson for employers navigating return-to-office debates. Rather than focusing only on where employees work, organizations may get better results by investing in employee well-being. 她说，这些压力源可能包括安排托儿服务、雇人照顾宠物或处理通勤的后勤问题。Johnson 表示，这项研究为正在应对“重返办公室”争论的雇主提供了一个更广泛的启示：与其只关注员工在哪里工作，组织通过投资员工的幸福感可能会获得更好的结果。
“I think flexibility is here to stay,” she said. “我认为灵活性将成为常态，”她说。