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A good remote or hybrid setup can improve how work feels, but it cannot by itself fix unclear priorities, poor support, or an unmanageable workload. A 2026 study of nearly 165,000 employees found that remote work’s positive association with job satisfaction diminished substantially after researchers accounted for pay, occupation, demographics, and workplace characteristics. That finding points to a more useful question than “Which location is best?”: does your manager and team make the arrangement workable?
What the February 13, 2026 Management Science study found about managers, location, and job satisfaction
In a study published online on February 13, 2026, Christos A. Makridis and Jason Schloetzer examined nearly 165,000 employees. They found that the positive association between more frequent remote work and job satisfaction diminished substantially after accounting for compensation, occupation, demographics, and workplace characteristics. The authors conclude that “workplace characteristics beyond remote work have a more consequential association with job satisfaction and retention than remote work itself.” Read the study abstract in Management Science.
This is an observational finding, not proof that a manager causes satisfaction or that location is unimportant. It does suggest that work arrangements should be considered alongside the conditions employees experience at work: their role, compensation, workplace context, and relationship with their supervisor.
Remote work’s value depends on the work and the relationship
The study found higher satisfaction associated with more frequent remote work among employees in low-coordination roles and among employees who rated their direct supervisors unfavorably. The implication is not that remote work replaces good management. Rather, its value may be greater where tasks require less day-to-day coordination or where distance gives employees relief from a strained supervisor relationship. The study’s results vary by context, so they do not establish a universally best arrangement.
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What the evidence says about burnout
The study above focuses on job satisfaction and retention, not burnout. Gallup’s hybrid-team guidance offers a separate, more qualified signal: it reports that employees whose teams have a formal or informal hybrid collaboration plan are 29% less likely to be burned out and 66% more likely to be engaged. Gallup does not establish in the cited passage that the plan caused those differences, and the passage does not state the underlying survey field dates. Treat the figures as a reported comparison, not a guarantee that adopting a plan will reduce burnout.
Gallup also describes a practical tension in hybrid work: autonomy can be helpful, but without shared structure it can contribute to boundary strain and confusion. A plan can clarify when and how people coordinate, while a manager can help ensure that expectations and workload remain realistic. Neither remote access nor office attendance alone answers whether someone has too much work, insufficient support, or unclear priorities.
How to tell whether location or management is the bigger problem
Start with the friction you experience rather than assuming the work arrangement is the cause. These checks can help you identify what needs to change:
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- Coordination: Do tasks depend on quick decisions, handoffs, or frequent collaboration? If so, the team may need agreed overlap times and reliable ways to resolve questions.
- Expectations: Do you know what matters most, what can wait, and how success is assessed? If not, ask your manager to clarify priorities and outcomes.
- Capacity: Is the workload manageable within your working hours, or does work routinely spill into personal time? A location change will not resolve an ongoing capacity problem by itself.
- Support: Can you raise concerns, get timely decisions, and receive useful coaching? If these are missing, the manager relationship may be a more immediate source of dissatisfaction than where you work.
- Boundaries: Are messages and meetings creating an expectation of constant availability? Shared response-time and availability norms can help distinguish flexibility from being perpetually on call.
These factors can overlap. For example, frequent coordination may be hard in a remote arrangement, but unclear team norms or delayed decisions can make it harder than necessary. Conversely, an office schedule will not necessarily solve an unsupportive supervisor relationship or excess workload.
What managers and hybrid teams can do
Gallup’s guidance emphasizes making expectations explicit, aligning team priorities, discussing capacity and wellbeing, coordinating team norms, and evaluating outcomes rather than constant online presence. These are practical recommendations, not interventions tested by the Management Science study.
Agree on how the team works
Set clear expectations for availability, response times, meeting practices, handoffs, and which work benefits from in-person collaboration. A collaboration plan should help people coordinate; it should not be a proxy for measuring commitment by attendance or green status.
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Make priorities and capacity discussable
Use regular one-to-one conversations to ask what is blocking progress, which tasks should take precedence, and whether the workload is sustainable. Gallup recommends meaningful weekly conversations; the point is to surface issues early rather than waiting for performance or wellbeing to deteriorate.
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Define the outcomes expected for a role and review those outcomes consistently across locations. If employees are judged by visibility or office presence instead, flexible arrangements can become less predictable and trust can suffer.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the current work mix tells you—and what it does not
Gallup’s May 2026 snapshot says that among U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs, 52% worked hybrid, 26% exclusively remotely, and 22% on-site. Those figures describe that specific population and point in time; they do not show which arrangement produces the best satisfaction or lowest burnout.
Gallup also says managers account for 70% of variance in team-level engagement. Engagement is not the same as job satisfaction or burnout, so that statistic should not be used as a direct measure of either. It does underline why manager behavior is worth examining when assessing how a team experiences work.
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