All Else Equal: Making Better Decisions Ep71 “The Working From Home Revolution” with Nick Bloom
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Jan 22, 2026 
Nick Bloom, Stanford economics professor and leading remote-work researcher. He walks through how hybrid work stuck, randomized trials on productivity and retention, the surprising link to higher birthrates, and practical rules for firms like coordinated office days and output-based reviews. Short, clear takes on balancing mentorship, deep work, and long-term risks.
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Hybrid Work Stabilized Around Three Days In Two At Home
- Work from home rose fourfold after COVID and now accounts for about 25% of workdays in the U.S., with roughly one-third hybrid and ~10% fully remote.
- Nick Bloom's randomized trial at Trip.com found hybrid (3 in, 2 home) left performance flat but cut quits by a third, making it profit-maximizing for many firms.
Cluster Office Time For Deep Problem Solving
- Design schedules that compress in-person mentoring and problem-solving into shared office days, e.g., Tuesday–Thursday.
- Bloom cites a study where alternating together/alone sessions outperformed all-together or all-separate for problem solving, justifying hybrid clustering.
Require Coordinated Days And Output Reviews
- Enforce coordinated office days and robust output-based performance reviews before allowing remote work.
- Bloom: require teams to come in the same days, evaluate outputs not visible inputs, and avoid loose opt-in schedules that fragment coordination.