Teleworking is becoming increasingly prevalent due to the rapid technological development and the spread of COVID-19. Despite the great convenience, questions about its productivity arise. Using regression analysis and difference-in-differences analysis, this study examines the effectiveness of teleworking by comparing the informativeness of analysts’ online and offline corporate visits. An empirical analysis shows that analysts’ forecasts are accurate after offline visits. This finding suggests that teleworking is less productive than on-site work. We further exclude explanations on fatigue and affiliation and confirm this finding’s robustness with alternative forecast performance measures. Additionally, teleworking impacts forecast accuracy based on analyst experience, resources, firm visibility, and transparency. Our results reveal a potential channel through which the COVID-19 crisis influences capital market transparency and overall economic output.

由于技术的快速发展和 COVID-19 的传播，远程办公正变得越来越普遍。尽管非常方便，但还是会出现有关其生产力的问题。本研究使用回归分析和差异中的差异分析，通过比较分析师在线和离线公司访问的信息量来检验远程办公的有效性。实证分析表明，线下访问后分析师的预测是准确的。这一发现表明远程工作的效率低于现场工作。我们进一步排除了对疲劳和从属关系的解释，并通过替代预测绩效指标确认了这一发现的稳健性。此外，远程办公会根据分析师经验、资源、公司可见性和透明度影响预测准确性。