I examine whether telecommuting, a work arrangement in which employees do not travel to a central workplace, affects the acquisition of new information in an environment where thorough search and acquisition of information is essential. On the one hand, telecommuting may impede information acquisition due to reduced communication with colleagues. On the other hand, telecommuting may facilitate information acquisition due to relaxed time pressure (via not having to commute) and increased attentional resources (via quieter and uninterrupted working environments). I find employees’ acquisition of new information increases following telecommuting, and find the improvement of information acquisition is driven by tasks for which
employees likely expend relatively less temporal and attentional resources before telecommuting. Finally, I find the acquisition of new information is positively related to work quality. My results highlight the benefits of telecommuting in facilitating information acquisition, in a context in which employees perform knowledge-intensive tasks.

The Effect of Telecommuting on Information Acquisition: Evidence from the U.S. Patent Office.

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