There was little variation between the percentage of men and women working from home in the reference week, with women a little more likely to have worked from home than men (47.5% compared with 45.7%), as shown in Figure 2. Before the pandemic, we estimated that just 6 percent of workers would need to find jobs in higher wage occupations. Many consumers discovered the convenience of e-commerce and other online activities during the pandemic. In 2020, the share of e-commerce grew at two to five times the rate before COVID-19 (Exhibit 2). Roughly three-quarters of people using digital channels for the first time during the pandemic say they will continue using them when things return to “normal,” according to McKinsey Consumer Pulse surveys conducted around the world. We find that jobs in work arenas with higher levels of physical proximity are likely to see greater transformation after the pandemic, triggering knock-on effects in other work arenas as business models shift in response.
Similar to the other features, other reasons exist and made up about half of the total number of participants, meaning that governmental decrees and employer policies were not solely responsible for how much people worked from home. Nearly half (48.3%) of workers in the District of Columbia worked from home, the highest percentage of home-based workers among states and state equivalents in 2021. In addition to the District of Columbia, states with the highest percentage of home-based workers were Washington (24.2%), Maryland (24.0%), Colorado (23.7%) and Massachusetts (23.7%). (These four states were not statistically different from each other.) 2021 marked the highest number and percentage of people working from home recorded since the ACS began in 2005. Among those aged 16 to 29 years, the largest increase in homeworking was in London (28.4 percentage points), nearly double the next highest increase (Scotland, 15.4 percentage points). Breaking this down by region, we find Scotland saw the largest percentage point increase in homeworking for two occupations.
Remote Work by Industry and Occupation
Another issue is that the survey data shows some participants may give inaccurate answers to the questionnaire. For example, some participants who claimed that they have been working from home every day since the pandemic started still chose a work trip mode, such as driving alone. Even though the percentage of these inaccurate answers is very small, it still poses some concerns during the analysis. C2 is the cluster that presents the pattern of people who plan to WFH several days a week after the pandemic. This group had experiences with WFH 1–2 days a week before the pandemic outbreak, and their work mode switched to WFH every day during the pandemic due to their employers’ policies. Some individuals of this group will maintain their previous WFH frequency – 1–2 days a week after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many employees started to get accustomed to WFH and will prefer to continue WFH even as pandemic-related restrictions relax. On the other hand, there are also employees who do not like WFH policies, and who remote work statistics will prefer a return to pre-pandemic office environments. As many corporations attempt to return to the normal office working environment, this tremendous shift of work culture is becoming a key issue.
Measuring the data
After almost two years of this massive shift to hybrid work, we are beginning to see more concrete workplace infrastructure changes that reflect hybrid workplace needs, like technology-infused spaces and more agile seating areas. Business and individual attitudes towards the future of homeworking, UK Article | 14 June 2021 Analysis of the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on office working and of business and individual attitudes to future working practices. The most common areas where people who worked from home reported seeing their spending increase was utilities and internet.
- In addition to the variables already detailed, Labour Force Survey (LFS) respondents are asked whether they worked at least one full day from home during the reference week.
- Although tech seems to be more adaptable to telecommuting, Silicon Valley companies and other U.S.-based firms had to cut over 40,000 jobs by May 2020.
- The question of how various factors will shape WFH patterns in the future remains unanswered.
- The primary reason this group of people did not WFH during the pandemic might be the nature of their work.
- Workers in occupations in the lowest wage bracket use basic cognitive skills and physical and manual skills 68 percent of the time, while in the middle wage bracket, use of these skills occupies 48 percent of time spent.
- Those aged 16 to 34 years were more likely to cite the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as the main reason for homeworking (95.2%), whereas those aged 50 years and over were less likely (76.1%).
Faced with worker shortages and the cost of office space, employers are also offering telework to broaden recruitment pools, reduce turnover, and moderate employee compensation. Around 40% of U.S. firms surveyed over the last year reported they had expanded opportunities to work from home or other remote locations (see chart). Eurofound’s e-survey found employers plan to permit an average of 0.7 days per week at home after the pandemic, although workers, especially women, parents, and those with longer commutes, want 1.7 days. The new HPS surveys households, not individuals, so it undercounts homeworkers living with other homeworkers. The Census Bureau’s 2022 Annual Business Survey is based on employers, finding the percentage of businesses with employees who worked from home rose from 28.1 in 2019 to 41.9 in 2020, a huge surge even before the pandemic. The primary reason this group of people did not WFH during the pandemic might be the nature of their work.
Figure 2: The number and proportion of people who work mainly at home has generally increased over time
Virtual collaboration tools have enabled these industries to operate effectively, irrespective of location. It’s evident that some industries and job roles are more geared towards remote work than others. Understanding these trends helps us predict the direction remote work will take in the future. A remarkable 93% of employers plan to continue conducting job interviews remotely [4]. This indicates a willingness to adapt to virtual methods and signals the recognition of remote work as a sustainable option.
This allows us to make a comparison between the most recent period of data available, and the period prior to the introduction of guidance and legal requirements to work from home. People in employment are defined as all those of working age (aged 16 years and over) who, during the reference week, had a job or business for pay or profit. Of those residents of London who did some work at home, 91.6% cited the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as their main reason for doing so. Conversely, the North East (76.6%) and the South West (79.1%) were the two regions where respondents were least likely to cite the coronavirus pandemic as the main reason for homeworking.
Table 3
This showcases how traditional office functions, such as accounting, can successfully adapt to a remote format. About 16% of companies are already fully remote, operating without a physical office [5]. These companies are pioneers in the remote work paradigm, highlighting the feasibility of such models and paving the way for others to follow.