Editorial
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The Future of Leadership Development: AI-Driven Manager Enablement
When so many of us were forced to work from home during the pandemic, a warning about the rise of so-called "Zoom towns" made the rounds. These were places outside the big cities where property was cheaper and the quality of life better, where people would flock to conduct their work remotely.
While it's fair to say the Zoom towns never materialized, not least due to a frustratingly stubborn (and vocal) number of employers that have issued return-to-office mandates, it is nonetheless true that remote and hybrid working has become more commonplace today.
Access Makes or Breaks Remote Work
Not all remote work is created equally, according to research from the University of Surrey, both in terms of which parts of the country support it and which kinds of remote work actually make us happier. Indeed, while we often frame the remote working debate in terms of technology or organizational culture, the reality is that it's about the kinds of things that underpin inequality more broadly.
The researchers found that things like good community facilities, ample green space, strong local services and reliable internet were all key to determining whether remote work worked, whether it made us any happier or whether it made the kind of inequalities that already riddle society even worse.
The researchers surveyed over 20,000 workers from across Europe to gain insight into remote work across a range of areas, including how remote work affected productivity, wellbeing, relocation plans, the desire for urban or rural living, and commuting patterns.
Autonomy Is Valued
Volunteers were quizzed not only on their experiences with working remotely but also on their preferences. The sample included a mix of nationalities and workers from both urban and rural locations.
The results showed that the ability to work remotely appears to correlate with higher job satisfaction and a stronger sense of autonomy. This was true regardless of whether the individual was fully remote or hybrid. As has been identified in previous research, giving people autonomy over when and where (and, indeed, how) they work tends to make them happier and more engaged. The results also showed that people were happier with their work-life balance and didn't have as much stress around their commute.
We've seen a reversal on remote work since the end of lockdown restrictions, with a number of workplaces issuing return-to-office mandates. The study found that having to return to the commute or otherwise living a long way from their workplace can harm the individual and the communities they had lived in, often in smaller towns or rural communities.
It Takes a Village
One of the central messages of the research is that remote work does not exist in a vacuum. It functions within, and is constrained by, the communities we live in. In other words, remote work “works” when the surrounding environment works too.
For instance, if a place has poor childcare, limited public transport, sparse local amenities and patchy broadband, it quickly erodes the benefits of remote work. We may remove the burden of our commute, only to find that we're isolated and struggling with infrastructure that isn't capable of meeting our needs.
Conversely, when a community invests in green spaces, local services, coworking hubs, digital connectivity and opportunities for social connection, remote work can strengthen rather than fragment the social fabric.
This is where the promise of remote work intersects directly with policy. While employers often frame remote or hybrid working as a corporate prerogative, the research suggests that governments and local authorities have an equally important role. The places that stand to gain most from remote and hybrid work are often the very places that have historically been under-resourced. Without investment, they risk becoming the latest casualty of uneven economic geography.
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The prospect of rejuvenating smaller towns, supporting local businesses and redistributing economic opportunity is real. But it requires planning, not just optimism. Remote work thrives when communities thrive. It’s not simply about where people sit with their laptops, it’s about the ecosystems that make good work, good lives and good places possible. If the future of work is to be fair, fulfilling and sustainable, then the future of place must be too.
For managers, it felt like the pandemic opened up a more caring and humane approach to leadership as we were encouraged to take an interest in the entire lives of our employees. This research reminds us that this holistic picture is especially important when it comes to discussing how and where our teams work, as it’s that holistic picture that will likely determine whether it succeeds or not.
Editor's Note: 2026 and the remote work debate continues:
- The Equalizing Impact of Remote Work — Remote work reduced proximity bias, but equality isn’t guaranteed. The gains — and the risk of backsliding — are both real.
- Finding the Sweet Spot: Why the Best Work Policy Lies in the Middle — Work isn't one-size-fits-all, and our approach to where it happens should embrace that reality.
- Return-to-Office Myths, Realities and the Future of Work — It's time we have an honest and open conversation about the way we work, and it starts by unpacking some of the biggest RTO myths.
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