The dark side of remote working in relation to urban-rural migration

Although remote working can offer many advantages to employees, employers and regions, its implementation has not led to drastic interregional migration. In this paper, we identify and discuss three directions: that of the employee, of the firm, and of the region. Using empirical materials from the Netherlands as well as a simple model of knowledge spillovers within and outside the firm, we show there are many drawbacks to remote working. On the one hand, this may be a warning to regional policy makers who are hoping for benefits and are willing to invest in attracting workers. On the other, it may be an explanation why even in the Netherlands – where flexibility of work was already high, and the tight labour market currently gives workers considerable negotiating power – the actual amount of urban workers moving to the periphery remains so small.