The Power of Proximity to Coworkers

How does proximity to coworkers affect training for tomorrow and productivity today?  We study software engineers at a Fortune 500 firm, who worked in two buildings several blocks apart. When offices were open, engineers on collocated teams received 22 percent more comments on their code than engineers with distant teammates. Once offices closed for COVID-19, this advantage largely disappears. Yet sitting together reduces programming output, particularly for the senior engineers who give most of the feedback. These tradeoffs are more acute for women. Even with many in the office, remote work may reduce interaction:  pre-COVID, having just one distant teammate reduced feedback among co-located workers.