Why Working from Home Will Stick

Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom and Steven Davis

No 28731, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: COVID-19 drove a mass social experiment in working from home (WFH). We survey more than 30,000 Americans over multiple waves to investigate whether WFH will stick, and why. Our data say that 20 percent of full workdays will be supplied from home after the pandemic ends, compared with just 5 percent before. We develop evidence on five reasons for this large shift: better-than-expected WFH experiences, new investments in physical and human capital that enable WFH, greatly diminished stigma associated with WFH, lingering concerns about crowds and contagion risks, and a pandemic-driven surge in technological innovations that support WFH. We also use our survey data to project three consequences: First, employees will enjoy large benefits from greater remote work, especially those with higher earnings. Second, the shift to WFH will directly reduce spending in major city centers by at least 5-10 percent relative to the pre-pandemic situation. Third, our data on employer plans and the relative productivity of WFH imply a 5 percent productivity boost in the post-pandemic economy due to re-optimized working arrangements. Only one-fifth of this productivity gain will show up in conventional productivity measures, because they do not capture the time savings from less commuting.

JEL-codes: D13 D23 E24 G18 J22 M54 R3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021-04
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lma, nep-mac and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (283)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Why working from home will stick (2021)
Working Paper: Why working from home will stick (2021)
Working Paper: Why Working from Home Will Stick (2021)
Working Paper: Why working from home will stick (2021)
Working Paper: Why Working From Home Will Stick (2020)
Working Paper: Why Working From Home Will Stick (2020)
Working Paper: Why Working From Home Will Stick (2020)
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