Question 60·Hard·Inferences
Sociologist Maya Li conducted a six-month study of 217 employees at a technology-services company. All participants had been eligible to switch from working in the company’s downtown office to working remotely; 98 employees made the switch voluntarily, while the remainder continued working on-site. At the end of the study, the remote workers rated their overall job satisfaction 15 percent higher, on average, than the on-site workers did, but they also reported logging 12 percent more overtime hours per week. In follow-up interviews, the remote workers were twice as likely as the on-site workers to say they had recently turned down a promotion because accepting it would require them to return to the office.
Taken together, these results most strongly suggest that _____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
For “Taken together, these results suggest…” questions, first list the key findings in your own words, then look for the pattern or tradeoff they show. Eliminate answer choices that (1) introduce topics the passage never measured (like productivity when only satisfaction and hours are discussed), (2) use extreme or universal language (“inevitably,” “no,” “any type of worker”), or (3) make policy recommendations the data do not clearly support. Choose the option that makes a modest, specific inference directly supported by combining all of the given results, not just one detail.
Hints
Locate the key results
Underline or note each major result: differences in job satisfaction, differences in overtime hours, and what workers said about turning down promotions.
Combine, don’t isolate, the data points
Ask yourself: if people are both more satisfied and working more overtime, and some even refuse promotions that would move them back to the office, what tradeoffs are they making?
Watch for overgeneralizations
Look for answer choices that use extreme words like “inevitably,” “no,” or “any type of worker.” Ask if one six‑month study at one company can really justify such broad claims.
Match scope and topic
Make sure the answer talks about what the study actually measured (satisfaction, overtime, decisions about promotions and work location), not about unmentioned ideas like overall productivity policies everywhere.
Step-by-step Explanation
Restate what the question is asking
The question says, “Taken together, these results most strongly suggest that ____.”
This means you must:
- Look at all the results from the study, not just one detail.
- Choose the option that gives a reasonable, modest conclusion that fits the evidence.
- Avoid answers that are too broad, absolute, or about topics the study never measured.
Summarize the key findings of the study
Pull out the important results:
-
Who was studied?
- 217 employees at one technology-services company.
- All could choose to switch from office to remote.
- 98 chose remote; the rest stayed on-site.
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Job satisfaction:
- Remote workers rated their job satisfaction 15% higher on average than on-site workers.
-
Overtime hours:
- Remote workers reported 12% more overtime hours per week than on-site workers.
-
Promotions:
- In interviews, remote workers were twice as likely as on-site workers to say they had turned down a promotion because it would require them to go back to the office.
Interpret what these findings say about remote workers
Put the pieces together:
- Remote workers are more satisfied with their jobs.
- Yet they also work more overtime, which many people normally dislike.
- Some of them even reject promotions, which most people usually want, if those promotions mean returning to the office.
Ask yourself: What are these remote workers willing to give up or accept (more overtime, lost promotions) in order to keep working remotely? That tells you what they value.
Test each answer choice against the evidence
Now compare each option to the study:
- Choice A: Talks about productivity and says remote work inevitably decreases it. The passage never measures productivity at all, and “inevitably” is far too strong for one small study.
- Choice B: Claims overtime has no negative impact for any type of worker. The study is only about one group of employees at one company; it cannot make a claim about all workers everywhere.
- Choice C: Suggests that taking away remote work options would solve promotion refusals. The results only show that some remote workers refuse promotions that require office work; they do not show what would happen if remote work were eliminated.
- Choice D: Fits the pattern: remote workers are happier even though they work more overtime and sometimes turn down promotions that would force them back to the office. This strongly suggests they care more about being able to work remotely (location flexibility) than about having fewer hours.
Therefore, the best conclusion that fits all the findings without overreaching is: many employees who choose remote work prioritize location flexibility over shorter working hours.