Remote Work Isn’t Dead—It’s Evolving: What 2 Years of Longitudinal Research Reveals About Software Engineers
Prof. Dr. Daniel Russo
Driving Transformation Through a Scientific Mindset | Professor and Researcher | Speaker | Coach | Industry Advisor
"Why are so many tech leaders pulling people back into the office—just as we finally understand how remote work really impacts developers?"
We’re at a crossroads.
Across industries, there's a noticeable shift: companies are scaling back remote work. The pendulum, which swung fully towards flexibility during the pandemic, is now swinging back—sometimes abruptly. But on what basis?
Is it anecdotal intuition—or scientific evidence?
As someone who’s spent two years leading a global, longitudinal study of nearly 200 software developers, I want to share what the data actually tells us.
A Glimpse into the Research
Between April 2020 and April 2022, together with Paul Hanel and Niels van Berkel we conducted six waves of data collection with developers from the UK, US, and beyond. We measured their well-being, productivity, social interactions, coping mechanisms, and workplace needs across time.
The COVID-19 lockdown was not just a disruption—it was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to understand how flexible work shapes our minds and our output.
This wasn’t a one-off survey. It was a robust, peer-reviewed, longitudinal effort that tracked changes—not just snapshots—over the course of the pandemic. The paper Understanding Developers Well-Being and Productivity: a 2-year Longitudinal Analysis during the COVID-19 Pandemic was published on ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology in 2024.
Here’s what we found.
Key Findings: Complex but Conclusive
Well-being improved. Yes, really.
Despite the chaos of the early pandemic, developers’ life satisfaction rose over time. Emotional loneliness—often cited as a core concern of remote work—decreased as people adapted and formed new routines.
Developers reported higher well-being scores by 2022 than they did at the start of lockdowns in 2020.
This contradicts the narrative that remote work is isolating by default. It’s not isolation—it’s poor design and lack of intentional connection that hurt well-being.
Productivity? Stable across two years.
Forget the memes about working in pajamas and distracted Zooming. Our data showed no meaningful change in productivity over time.
Remote work didn’t degrade performance—it redefined how developers deliver value.
Whether fixing bugs or shipping features, developers maintained output. But here's the nuance: what did matter was how well their needs for autonomy and competence were supported.
🧭 Hybrid is the future—but only when it's flexible.
By 2022, the overwhelming majority of participants preferred hybrid arrangements. But this preference wasn’t about splitting days between home and office—it was about having control.
Developers didn’t want more face time. They wanted more choice.
This distinction is critical. Forced hybrid models—where flexibility is nominal and presence is policed—don’t fulfill the psychological benefits we observed.
What This Means for Tech Leaders
Many of you reading this are making real-time decisions about team structure, hiring, retention, and office space. Let me translate these findings into actionable insights for your context.
1. Autonomy fuels loyalty and performance.
Developers are highly motivated by mastery and independence. Teams that offered autonomy saw higher job satisfaction and lower intent to quit.
When developers felt micromanaged or forced into rigid setups, they were more likely to consider leaving—even after just changing jobs.
If you're concerned about brain drain, start with flexibility.
2. Mismatch between company policy and developer preference is a red flag.
In our study, the strongest predictor of a developer's intention to change jobs was a misalignment between their preferred work setup and what their company offered.
It wasn’t just about working from home—it was about being heard.
A developer who values remote autonomy but is asked to commute without purpose is already browsing job boards.
3. You can’t mandate culture. You have to design it.
Our data showed that social connection and emotional well-being improved when companies invested in intentional connection—not just shared spaces.
The best results came from teams that built rituals, not just required attendance.
Think structured standups, async updates, opt-in co-location days—not blanket return mandates.
Real Talk: Imagine You’re This Developer
Let’s say you're a mid-career backend engineer.
You’ve just started thriving in your remote workflow. You’ve got a quiet space, a solid setup, and your GitHub graph is greener than ever.
But then, the email lands.
“Starting next quarter, we expect all staff to be in-office three days a week.”
No consultation. No clarity. Just a directive.
You start asking yourself questions:
And then you remember: your friend just joined a fully remote team, is doing cutting-edge work, and gets together with colleagues at offsites every quarter.
You quietly refresh your CV.
Our Framework: The IJARS Model
To help organizations make sense of these patterns, we developed the IJARS Model—the Integrated Job Demands-Resources and Self-Determination framework.
IJARS combines two robust psychological theories—JD-R and SDT—to explain how work demands, support systems, and core needs interact.
Here’s the gist:
The IJARS model helps leaders build systems where:
When these needs are met, performance and well-being both rise.
Where Do We Go From Here?
The data is clear: Remote work is not the problem. Poorly managed remote work is.
We’re living through a transformation as profound as the Industrial Revolution—except this time, it’s digital, distributed, and deeply human.
Companies that default to “back to office” without a data-informed rationale may find themselves losing more than culture. They’ll lose credibility, and eventually, their talent.
Resilience in a volatile world means creating work environments that adapt—because your people already have.
The future of work isn’t a place. It’s a mindset.
Final Thought: This Is Not About Location — It’s About Alignment
The message is clear: the future of work isn't just about where we sit — it's about how we support people to do their best work.
We’re no longer debating between remote, hybrid, or in-office as mere logistics. We’re confronting deeper questions: autonomy, trust, psychological safety, and sustainable performance.
Yet too many organizations reduce remote work to policy rather than practice — checking boxes, not checking in with what their teams actually need.
So, what’s your next move?
✅ If you’re a software engineer or team contributor: Reflect on how your current environment affects your motivation, focus, and learning. Advocate for the work setup that lets you thrive — not just survive. And if you're looking elsewhere, choose organizations that match your values, not just your skill set.
✅ If you’re a team lead, manager, or architect: Think beyond schedules. Are you fostering autonomy, or enforcing presence? Are your rituals inclusive of remote voices? Start building trust with transparency, feedback, and space to self-direct. It's not about tracking hours — it's about supporting impact.
✅ If you’re a CTO, VP of Engineering, or senior leader: Shift the conversation from attendance to outcomes. Design policies grounded in evidence, not tradition. Make hybrid work a strategic advantage — not an HR headache. Your retention, innovation, and resilience depend on aligning work conditions with real human needs.
The future of work isn’t a binary decision. It’s a complex system of trust, design, and shared purpose. The companies that will lead aren’t just those who return to the office — but those who return to first principles.
That’s where I can help.
I collaborate with organizations to rethink how teams work — using behavioral science, empirical research, and practical strategies to guide sustainable transformation.
👉 Learn how to lead with evidence: danielrusso.org/evidence-based-organizational-change
How is your team navigating hybrid work — and are your policies grounded in what actually works?
💬 Let’s exchange ideas in the comments.
#SoftwareEngineering #RemoteWork #HybridTeams #DeveloperWellBeing #OrganizationalPsychology #TeamDynamics #FutureOfWork #LeadershipStrategy
Digital transformation | Engineering Leader | Scalable Systems | Innovation | Strategy | Collaboration
1moSuper interesting research. Did you have insights into whether the lack of coffee/watercooler talk for 100 % Remote workers had any direct or indirect for impact on their thriving and career?