In-Office Work Did Not Return After COVID-19 Like Many CEOs Anticipated, But New Research Suggests The Remote Work Trend Can Greatly Decrease Our Carbon Footprint
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many CEOs and companies thought workers would go back to in-person office operations. But, the much-anticipated “back to the office” scene has not exactly panned out according to corporate expectations.
Loads of empty office spaces nationwide are still gathering cobwebs, and a large percentage of remote employees admit they would rather find new jobs than be forced to commute daily again.
Whether or not in-office work will ever fully bounce back remains a mystery. But, a recent study conducted by Cornell University and Microsoft suggests there is another viable reason for employees to continue working from home– it is eco-friendly.
Research indicates that individuals working from home can slash their carbon footprint by 54% compared to their office-bound peers. But, just a heads up, the researchers do point out that individual habits, lifestyles, and work setups greatly influence the green advantages of remote or blended work arrangements.
“Remote work is not zero carbon, and the benefits of hybrid work are not perfectly linear,” said Fengqi You, a senior author of the study.
“Everybody knows without commuting, you save on transportation energy, but there’s always lifestyle effects and many other factors.”
Still, even hybrid employees– who balance their workweek between home and the office for between two and four days– can trim their carbon emissions by 11% to 29%. On the other hand, opting to work from home just once a week makes a smaller dent, slicing only about 2% off their carbon footprint.
The study highlights travel and office energy consumption as the main offenders when it comes to the carbon footprints of onsite and hybrid workers. Though it’s no shocker that these two are major contributors, the researchers made sure to consider other elements that previous research might have missed.
This encompasses things like how much energy we use at home, non-work-related travel, the gadgets we use, the number of people we live with, and how our office spaces are set up, such as seating arrangements and the building’s size.
N Lawrenson/peopleimages.com – stock.adobe.com- illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
The study unveiled several key findings. Primarily, as the frequency of remote workdays rises, there’s a significant increase in non-commute travel, such as trips for social and recreational activities.
Furthermore, the practice of seat sharing by hybrid workers, especially when the building is at full capacity, has the potential to cut carbon footprints by a substantial 28%.
Hybrid workers were also found to have a tendency to commute longer distances than their onsite counterparts, likely due to varying housing preferences.
Lastly, despite the evident shifts to communications technologies, such as increased computer, phone, and internet usage among remote and hybrid workers, the effect on overall carbon footprint remains minimal.
“Remote and hybrid work shows great potential for reducing carbon footprint, but what behaviors should these companies and other policymakers be encouraging to maximize the benefits? The findings suggest organizations should prioritize lifestyle and workplace improvements,” explained Longqi Yang, a corresponding author of the study and principal applied research manager at Microsoft.
The researchers’ first suggestion is that businesses and changemakers should begin incentivizing workers to commute using public transportation instead of driving. Additionally, companies can begin getting rid of office space for workers who are remote, as well as prioritizing energy efficiency at office buildings.
“Globally, every person, every country, and every sector have these kinds of opportunities with remote work. How could the combined benefits change the whole world? That’s something we really want to advance our understanding of,” concluded Yangqui Tao, the study’s first author.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, visit the link here.
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