What is the optimal balance between office and home working?
While more and more organisations push for a return to the office, many employees choose to keep teleworking. Determining the optimal intensity of telework is therefore crucial. Until now, however, little thorough scientific research was available on the optimal level of telework. Our study, published in Kyklos, examines how telework intensity affects employees’ experience of work. We find that hybrid working, a combination of teleworking and working at the central work location, offers a possible compromise to bridge the gap between the preferences of employers and employees.
In a study led by Eline Moens as part of her doctoral research, together with Kathleen Vangronsvelt, Ans De Vos, and Stijn Baert, we followed a high-quality sample of Flemish employees since the COVID-19 pandemic, tracking their degree of telework, wellbeing, productivity, and attachment to their employer. Such longitudinal data collection has important advantages. When a one-off survey finds that someone who teleworks a lot feels better in their job, this may simply be because that person is generally a strong performer who is granted a lot of freedom for that reason. By following individuals over a longer period, such personal characteristics can be filtered out. International scientific research has long called for a longitudinal analysis of the impact of telework.
Half at the office, half at home: ideal for job satisfaction and work-life balance
As soon as employees start teleworking, improvements appear in job satisfaction, work-life balance, professional development, and relationships with colleagues, with a peak at around 50% telework. Beyond that point, these benefits gradually fade again, until at full-time telework they sit back at the same level as with full-time office work. One example: job satisfaction scores an average of 3.35 out of 5 under both full-time office work and full-time telework. At a telework intensity of 50%, however, job satisfaction reaches a peak of 3.60.
Teleworking for roughly half of the working time thus leads to the highest levels of job satisfaction, work-life balance, professional development, and relationships with colleagues. This presumably stems from benefits such as less commuting time, more flexibility, and fewer but more meaningful contacts with managers and colleagues. For those reasons, being able to telework one day more is worth as much to Flemish employees as a substantial pay rise, as Eline shows in another study within her doctoral research. When the degree of telework increases even further, the scores drop again, probably because negative factors such as blurred boundaries and very limited physical presence start to weigh more heavily.
Task efficiency and concentration peak at an even higher level of telework
In contrast to aspects of job satisfaction and work-life balance, which peak around 50% telework, task efficiency and work concentration, as important aspects of productivity, reach their highest level at 70% telework or more. They also do not decline when telework intensity rises further.
This can be explained by the fact that a high level of telework offers the possibility to stay in a deep, uninterrupted workflow. Employees can work with more focus and efficiency and exploit peak moments of productivity. At home, they face fewer unforeseen interruptions, such as spontaneous conversations with colleagues, and they can schedule interruptions better than at the office.
Attachment to the employer declines slightly as telework increases
While the aspects of job satisfaction and productivity above peak at a high degree of telework, attachment to the employer, the last aspect we examined, shows a negative relationship. Attachment to the employer gradually declines with more telework, although the decline remains limited.
Based on this research, we advise employers to re-evaluate rigid weekly telework schedules. Employers benefit from reflecting carefully on which home-working arrangement yields the most advantages and the fewest disadvantages for their specific situation. They should also dare to think out of the box. For example, it can be more effective to let employees work from home more often in weeks that require intense concentration, and to limit telework in weeks when collaboration at the central work location adds more value, such as when welcoming new colleagues.
Applied well, hybrid working, a combination of teleworking and working at the central work location, can be a win-win for employees and employers alike.
This post also appeared via UGent @ Work, in Dutch. The study is joint work with Eline Moens, Kathleen Vangronsvelt, Ans De Vos, and Stijn Baert. This page was last updated on 05 June 2026.