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.

More on this topic

BFI Working Paper·Feb 17, 2025

Measuring Work from Home

Shelby Buckman, Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom, and Steven J. Davis
Topics: Employment & Wages
BFI Working Paper·Feb 11, 2025

Income Equality in The Nordic Countries: Myths, Facts, and Lessons

Magne Mogstad, Kjell G. Salvanes, and Gaute Torsvik
Topics: Economic Mobility & Poverty, Employment & Wages
BFI Working Paper·Feb 10, 2025

Policy Interventions and China’s Stock Market in the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Steven Davis, Dingqian Liu, Xuguang Simon Sheng, and Yan Wang
Topics: COVID-19, Financial Markets