What if a robust remote-work policy translated into significant revenue gains?

That’s the conclusion of a new report by Scoop, a hybrid-work management company that also maintains the Flex Index, a database of companies and their remote-work policies. That report suggests companies with flexible remote-work policies “outperformed their peers by 16 percentage points on 2020-2022 revenue growth on an industry-adjusted basis.” (“Flexible” in this case is defined as companies that give their employees a “choice over whether to come into an office.”)

For smaller companies, the report concludes, “flexible work can offer a competitive advantage and an attractive work environment for top talent.” At larger companies, meanwhile, “hybrid work is a sweet spot that gives employees and managers a balance between in-person and remote work.”

Seventy-three percent of tech professionals said it is “extremely” or “very” important that their next role includes the option to work remotely at least three days a week, according to Dice’s latest sentiment analysis of the tech industry. Tech pros also said that flexible work allowed them to be more productive, increased their overall happiness, and offered fewer distractions. (It’s also a significant contributor to work-life balance.)

But how does flexible work potentially tie into higher revenue growth? That’s an excellent question, and there might be more than one answer (if you take the data at face value, that is). Perhaps the simplest explanation: happier workers may be more productive and innovative, resulting in products that better appeal to end-users, generating more revenue. Companies that enforce a return-to-office mandate, meanwhile, might not attract top talent, curtailing their innovation and productivity (as well as their revenues).

Revenue boosts aside, it seems as if a number of companies are recognizing the value of flexible work. As part of that sentiment analysis, HR professionals told Dice that their companies were offering flexible working hours (48 percent) and increased time off (39 percent) as just two ways of drawing employees back to the office for at least a few days per week. If you’re interested in hybrid or even fully remote work, now’s a great time to negotiate over your weekly schedule and perks.