The Impact of Remote Work on Employee Engagement and Productivity: A Systematic Review

Remote work proliferated all over the world since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and thus has fundamentally changed the way organizations work, collaborate, and measure performance. This is a systematic review that summarized studies on the effects of remote work on employee engagement and productivity. In accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, ten peer-reviewed studies were discussed in a variety of settings, such as hybrid or remote workplaces. Results indicate that remote employment supports the aspects of flexibility, autonomy, and work-life balance-significant facilitators of engagement and performance-and opens up issues of social isolation, boundary blur, and inefficiency in communications. The moderation factors that were found to play significant roles were leadership style, digital infrastructure, and employee self-regulations. On the whole, there is an indication that remote working can be engaging and productive with the presence of inclusive leadership, good digital communication system, and organizational support systems.