The rapid and widespread adoption of telecommuting in response to the coronavirus crisis may result in more workers continuing to work from home after the widespread shutdowns of business life are lifted, according to a new analysis from the Rockefeller Institute of Government. The analysis speculates that businesses and workers who previously had reservations about […]
The rapid and widespread adoption of telecommuting in response to the coronavirus crisis may result in more workers continuing to work from home after the widespread shutdowns of business life are lifted, according to a new analysis from the Rockefeller Institute of Government.
The analysis speculates that businesses and workers who previously had reservations about work-from-home arrangements will be more open to them in the long-term after a period of being required to operate remotely.
“As we navigate this crisis, employers and employees are forced to be flexible and creative to keep business operations running smoothly,” Patricia Strach, interim executive director at the Rockefeller Institute, said in a release. “This forced work-from-home experience is showing us that work-from-home arrangements are a viable strategy for many businesses and that is likely to be true even when this crisis is over.”
Working from home was already a growing trend before the pandemic. The analysis cites research published by the Rockefeller Institute earlier this year that found that more than 8 million Americans work from home full-time, a nearly 50-percent increase since 2005.
More than 13 million Americans telecommute at least one day a week, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The analysis highlighted that group as one likely to grow, stating, “…many believe the result of this experience will lead to more people choosing to work remotely one or two days a week.”
The analysis further cites federal and state governments offering grants and loans to businesses to upgrade remote-work technology and the growing acceptance of telehealth and teletherapy by health-care providers as factors that will accelerate the work-from-home trend.
The Rockefeller Institute of Government is the public policy research arm of the State University of New York. The full analysis is available online at https://rockinst.org/blog/coronavirus-likely-to-lead-to-permanent-growth-in-work-from-home-ranks/
