Expert advises young workers to ‘just say no’ to remote work

To the 2 million recent college graduates looking to enter the workforce, one expert has some surprising advice: Just say “no” to remote work.

Michael R. Strain, economic policy studies director at the American Enterprise Institute, writes that young people should go to work – literally.

“Be at your desk five (or six!) days per week,” he said in a recent article. “And if your job is fully remote, start looking for a new one.”

Strain cited new research linking higher unemployment rates among younger workers to the rise in remote work.

The unemployment rate for college graduates younger than 29 rose 1.3 percentage points from 2019 to 2025, compared with a 0.4 percentage point increase for older college graduates.

The study’s authors found remote work was responsible for most of that gap, and the results “hold up even when they control for each occupation’s exposure to automation by generative AI tools.”

A second study of the United States and three other English-speaking countries found post-pandemic hiring shifts “favored more senior workers over those with just a few years of experience.”

And for younger workers banking on their knowledge of technology to give them an edge, the study found that “the arrival and increased use of AI tools have had no effect on the decline in the demand for junior talent.”

“Employers are increasingly turning away from inexperienced workers for remote roles because such arrangements require relatively more supervision and greater effort to build new knowledge and skills,” Strain said.

In-person work can help graduates develop emotional intelligence by reading body language and changes in facial expressions and vocal tone, which can’t be fully conveyed through video calls.

Strain notes that remote work has helped several populations, particularly people with disabilities, whose employment rate has risen. But for younger workers, he strongly recommends being physically present.

“Work hard. Knock on doors. Get to the office before your supervisor arrives, and don’t leave work before he or she does,” Strain said.

“First impressions matter, and like the background on a Zoom call, they can be blurred and distorted unless you are standing face to face.”