The Science of Flexible Work: Autonomy Trumps Location

Flexible-work effectiveness depends more on autonomy, trust, culture, development, and intentional coordination than on location satisfaction or attendance counts. Remote-work supervision, onboarding, and learning frictions particularly affect early-career talent, while office-quality constraints and commuting costs make manager capability, clear anchor days, and evidence-based work design preferable to blanket return-to-office mandates.