Working from Home Around the World
INSTITUTIONS ACROSS THE WORLD
The Covid-19 pandemic triggered a huge, sudden uptake in work from home, as individuals and organizations responded to contagion fears and government restrictions on commercial and social activities. Over time, it has become evident that the big shift to work from home will endure after the pandemic ends. No other episode in modern history involves such a pronounced and widespread shift in working arrangements in such a compressed time frame.
Key Messages
- Most workers were favorably surprised by their productivity in work from home (WFH) mode during the pandemic.
- Employer plans for WFH levels after the pandemic rise strongly with these individual-level productivity surprises.
- Planned WFH levels also rise with the cumulative stringency of government-mandated lockdowns during the pandemic.
- Employees value the option to WFH 2-3 days per week at 5 percent of pay, on average, with higher valuations for women, people with children, highly-educated workers, and those with longer commutes.
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Citation
Cevat Giray Aksoy, Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom, Steven Davis, Mathias Dolls and Pablo Zarate: “Working from Home Around the World,” EconPol Forum 23 (6), CESifo, Munich, 2022.