We quantify the commute time savings associated with work from home, drawing on data for 27 countries. The average daily time savings when working from home is 72 minutes in our sample. We estimate that work from home saved about two hours per week per worker in 2021 and 2022, and that it will save about one hour per week per worker after the pandemic ends. Workers allocate 40 percent of their time savings to their jobs and about 11 percent to caregiving activities. People living with children allocate more of their time savings to caregiving.

More on this topic

BFI Working Paper·Nov 14, 2024

Assortative Matching and Wages: The Role of Selection

Katarína Borovičková and Robert Shimer
Topics: Employment & Wages
BFI Working Paper·Sep 24, 2024

Moving to Opportunity, Together

Seema Jayachandran, Lea Nassal, Matthew J. Notowidigdo, Marie Paul, Heather Sarsons, and Elin Sundberg
Topics: Employment & Wages
BFI Working Paper·Sep 16, 2024

Why Do Workers Dislike Inflation? Wage Erosion and Conflict Costs

Joao Guerreiro, Jonathon Hazell, Chen Lian, and Christina Patterson
Topics: Employment & Wages