And among those who are working from home some of the time, half say they’d like to do so all (18%) or most (32%) of the time. Policymakers could support businesses by expanding and enhancing the digital infrastructure. Even in advanced economies, almost 20 percent of workers in rural households lack access to the internet.

• Facilities and technologies are being increasingly developed to support remote work in the future.
• The numbers decreased significantly for both driving alone (now 19%) and public transit (now 1%) during COVID.
• This research provides HR leaders with overall benchmarks, as well as region and industry benchmarks, for the percentage of employees working remotely before and during the pandemic, and for the percentage of employees who would like to work remotely after the pandemic.

Facilities and technologies are being increasingly developed to support remote work in the future. For instance, the popularity of virtual reality and remote workspace platforms is a trend (Fereydooni and Walker, 2020). Most employed adults don’t have the option of working from home, and some of those who do are still spending some time in the office or at their workplace. https://remotemode.net/ For many of these workers, the pandemic has brought a new concern about their health. Among those who are not working exclusively from home and who have at least some in-person interactions with other people at their workplace, a majority say they are at least somewhat concerned about being exposed to the coronavirus at work (21% say they are very concerned).

Resisting the Transition to Remote Work

Table 4 shows the participants’ personal opinions and perceptions about social issues related to COVID. A majority of the participants agreed that face covers should be mandatory, everyone should stay at home if possible, physical distancing is an efficient approach, they are concerned about family, and they enjoy social interactions. For some other opinions, such as increasing family conflict and making people less disciplined, the percentages of people who agreed were almost equal to those who disagreed.

• In turn, 53% of Republicans say their employer should neither require nor encourage employees to get vaccinated; only 10% of Democrats say the same.
• About six-in-ten hybrid workers (59%) say they work from home three or more days in a typical week, while 41% say they do so two days or fewer.
• Based on both the May 2020 and February 2021 CPS, workers in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Pacific regions, were most likely to be teleworking, while those in East South Central states were significantly least likely.

Before COVID-19, the largest disruptions to work involved new technologies and growing trade links. COVID-19 has, for the first time, elevated the importance of the physical dimension of work. By contrast, a majority of those who think their employer should encourage but not require vaccination (64%) and those who say their employer should neither require nor encourage it (61%) say what their employer is doing is in line with what they personally think should be done. About nine-in-ten workers who say their employer has required employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine (92%) say they are fully vaccinated, including 58% who say they have received a booster shot. A smaller share of those who don’t have a vaccination requirement at work (65%) say they are fully vaccinated, with 38% saying they have received a COVID-19 vaccine booster. Democrats and those who lean Democratic (27%) are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners (17%) to say their employer has required COVID-19 vaccination.

About half of new teleworkers say they have more flexibility now; majority who are working in person worry about virus exposure

Most workers new to telework (72%) say their ability to advance at work while working from home is about the same as it was before. Fewer than one-in-five say working from home has made it easier or harder to advance. https://remotemode.net/blog/breaking-down-2021-2022-remote-work-statistics/ As the pandemic eases, all these factors will influence the desirability and practice of homework. These statistics would not be possible without participation from ACS respondents throughout the country.