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These five reasons are plausible explanations, not a validated five-factor model. Engagement also is not the same as wellbeing: fully remote workers were less likely to be thriving and more likely to report stress than some other groups.
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What Gallup’s engagement figures do—and don’t—show
Gallup’s global comparison measures reported engagement across work arrangements. It found the highest share among fully remote workers, but the figures are differences between groups, not proof that moving a team remote would raise its engagement. The groups may differ in job type, working conditions, and other factors.
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| Work arrangement | Engaged | Thriving | Experienced stress the previous day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully remote | 31% | 36% | 45% |
| Hybrid | 23% | 42% | 46% |
| On-site, remote-capable | 23% | 42% | 39% |
| On-site, not remote-capable | 19% | 30% | 38% |
Source: Gallup’s global findings, published May 7, 2025. “Thriving” reflects overall wellbeing, while engagement concerns a person’s connection to and involvement in work; one measure cannot stand in for the other. The contrast matters: fully remote workers had the highest reported engagement, but lower thriving than hybrid and on-site remote-capable workers.
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Gallup also reported that 57% of fully remote workers globally were actively looking or passively watching for new job opportunities. That share was 47% among engaged fully remote workers and 38% among those who were both engaged and thriving. Engagement alone therefore does not guarantee that workers feel well or intend to stay.
1. Remote work can give people more autonomy
Gallup suggests that remote workers may have more control over their time. When a job allows it, people can choose when to tackle demanding tasks, structure their day around responsibilities, and make some decisions without the interruptions of a shared office. That discretion can help employees feel ownership of how they get work done.
Autonomy is not the same as being left alone. If employees must constantly decide what matters, when they are expected to respond, and how to resolve blockers, self-management can become another source of strain. Managers need to set clear outcomes and boundaries while leaving room for employees to choose their approach.
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2. Work may fit employees’ strengths more closely
Engagement can be stronger when people regularly use skills they are good at and find meaningful. Gallup identifies strengths alignment as a possible advantage in remote settings: teams can sometimes assign work around capability rather than relying on who happens to be nearby or available in an office.
Location alone does not create that fit. Managers still need to understand employees’ strengths, clarify responsibilities, and remove obstacles that prevent people from doing their best work. Gallup’s guidance on remote and hybrid management emphasizes clear expectations, coaching, purpose, and effective managers rather than treating the work arrangement as a substitute for good management: Gallup’s strategic guide to managing hybrid and remote teams.
3. Fewer interruptions can make focused work easier
Gallup proposes that remote workers may find it easier to focus and reach a state of flow. This is most plausible for tasks that can be completed independently—such as drafting, analysis, or coding—when employees have a suitable work environment and agreed ways to communicate.
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Not every task benefits from less face-to-face contact. Work that depends on rapid handoffs, shared equipment, sensitive discussion, or frequent coordination can become harder when teammates are apart. Teams should decide which work needs synchronous collaboration and which can be done independently, rather than assuming remote work improves focus for every role.
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4. Flexibility may help people use time more efficiently
Gallup also points to flexibility as a possible way for employees to use their time more efficiently. Depending on the job and a person’s circumstances, working remotely can reduce the friction of commuting or allow demanding work to be scheduled around periods of concentration and other obligations.
Those gains are not automatic. They depend on reasonable workloads, workable technology, and boundaries that keep flexibility from turning into constant availability. Gallup’s 2025 figures show why the distinction matters: fully remote workers were more likely to report previous-day stress than on-site workers, and hybrid workers reported the highest stress share in the comparison.
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5. Intentional management can make distance workable
Remote and hybrid teams need explicit agreements about how work moves between people. A collaboration plan can clarify which channels to use, when people should be available, how decisions are recorded, and when the team meets. Regular check-ins can surface confusion or isolation before they undermine work.
In a nationally representative U.S. study of 2,877 hybrid workers, Gallup found that 48% said their team had not discussed a formal or informal collaboration plan. Workers whose teams had a plan were 66% more likely to be engaged and 29% less likely to be burned out. These are associations, not evidence that writing a plan by itself causes engagement or prevents burnout. The findings are also specific to hybrid workers in the U.S., not a direct comparison with Gallup’s global engagement figures.
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A practical team plan should cover:
- Which work requires a meeting and which can be handled asynchronously.
- Expected availability and reasonable response times for each communication channel.
- How owners, deadlines, decisions, and handoffs are documented.
- How often the team checks whether its working agreements still fit.
Gallup recommends regular team check-ins, clear availability expectations, and periodic reviews of how the team works together. These practices make coordination more predictable; they do not guarantee a particular engagement score.
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Why higher engagement does not settle whether remote work is better
Work arrangement is only one part of the picture. A 2026 study by Christos A. Makridis and Jason Schloetzer examined nearly 165,000 employees and 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 study measured job satisfaction and retention, not engagement, so it does not directly test Gallup’s engagement percentages. It does reinforce the need to distinguish an observed relationship from a causal effect.
Remote work may suit people and tasks that benefit from autonomy and uninterrupted work, while creating costs where coordination is intensive or isolation and unclear boundaries go unaddressed. The relevant management question is not simply whether a team is remote, hybrid, or on-site; it is whether its work design gives people clarity, support, and a workable way to collaborate.
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Sources
- Ryan Pendell, Gallup, “The Remote Work Paradox: Higher Engagement, Lower Wellbeing,” May 7, 2025.
- Ben Wigert and Sangeeta Agrawal, Gallup, “How to Boost Productivity in Hybrid Teams,” July 18, 2024.
- Christos A. Makridis and Jason Schloetzer, “How Do Different Remote Work Arrangements Impact Employee Job Satisfaction and Retention?,” Management Science, published online February 13, 2026.
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