Inequality of Remote Work

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• 20% of US Workers Are Expected to Work from Home Permanently

  While just 5% of the workforce in the US worked from home prior to the pandemic, 20% are expected to work from home permanently.

• Employees Picking Their Work from Home Days Leads to Inequality

  Many companies are moving to a hybrid remote setup when it’s safe for employees to return to offices. Some will allow employees to choose when they work from home and when they work from the office. However, this leads to an in-group (people in the office) and an out-group (people working from home more often).

• 38 Percent of Remote Workers Work from Their Beds

  A survey found that 38% of remote workers regularly work from their beds. 45% regularly work from the couch.

• 45% of Jobs Can Be Done Remotely

  Merging data from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) round 16, and American Time Use Survey (ATUS) shows that an estimated 45% of jobs (~67MM based on number of employed citizens) in the US can be done remotely. However, prior to the pandemic only 10% of workers who could work remotely actually did (the takeup rate).

• § What Is the Market Value of Working Remote?

  We can come up with a valuation of remote work by looking at a few signals: what you would forgo, what do you gain, what others gain, and what others lose.

• Black and Hispanic People Have Less Access to Broadband Internet Than White People

  A 2019 Pew Research survey found that Black and Hispanic people have less access to broadband internet than White people (66% 61% vs 79% respectively). This digital divide is becoming more pronounced due to trends in remote work.

• Half of Millennials and Gen Z Would Consider Quitting If Employers Don’t Allow Remote Work

  A poll done by Morning Consult on behalf of Bloomberg News in May 2021 showed that 39% of U.S. adults would consider quitting if they weren’t able to work from home. Millenials and GenZ respondents showed 49%.

• The Rate of Depressive Symptoms in US Adults Quadrupled During the Pandemic

  A study found that US adults experienced significantly more depressive symptoms in 2021 (32.8%) compared to the early months of the pandemic (27.8%) and before the pandemic (8.5%). Predictors of pandemic depression include low household income, not being married, and pandemic-related stressors.

• Remote Work Will Become a Political Issue

  Up to this point in the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work has been a buoy keeping many parts of the economy afloat. We’ve seen that working from home was so successful and fears of loss of productivity were unfounded. Now we are starting to see a reactionary movement that will find it’s way into political agendas—how to get workers back in the office.

• Minority Job Candidates Are Significantly More Worried About Being Able to Work Remotely

  According to a recent survey by WayUp that measured how job seekers felt in the current COVID-19 job climate, Black and Hispanic/Latino job seekers were 145% more likely to be concerned about being capable of doing a job remotely compared to White job seekers. Lack of physical space, access to broadband, and having more people in the household are contributing factors.

• Not Having to Commute for Five Hours Is Equivalent to a 10 Percent Raise

  In 2019, Americans spent an average of 55.2 minutes per day commuting. During the COVID-19 pandemic, remote workers have completely eliminated morning commutes which is like a 10% raise (or higher if you are like 10% of Americans that commute two hours per day). The monetary value of saved commuting time would be equivalent to the largest tax cuts for the middle class ever.