Edition: International | Greek
MENU

Home » Business

Employers are giving workers the work from home days they want

More than two years after the start of the covid-19 pandemic, US workers are closer than ever to getting the remote-work arrangements they want

By: EBR - Posted: Wednesday, July 27, 2022

"The tight US labour market is making workers feel more confident in making demands of their employers about remote working".
"The tight US labour market is making workers feel more confident in making demands of their employers about remote working".

by Michelle Cheng

More than two years after the start of the covid-19 pandemic, US workers are closer than ever to getting the remote-work arrangements they want.

In late 2020, the gap between how many work from home days workers wanted and how many remote days hybrid employers were planning was 1.38 days, according to a monthly online survey from WFH Research, a project that has been tracking workplace attitudes and worker arrangements each month since May 2020. By June 2022, that gap had narrowed to 0.44 days.

The difference is largely gone not because employees are wanting fewer remote days, but because employers are offering more of them, with the average number of days per week employees are invited to work from home rising from 1.58 days per week in January 2021 to 2.37 days per week in June 2022.

The narrowing gap signals that the US labor market remains tight, with workers feeling confident in making demands of their employers.

Work from home days: employer plans vs workers’ desires

 

 

Companies are continuing to experiment with work from home patterns, said Nicholas Bloom, an economist who helped conduct the study (and who has been working from home since 2004). Employers that increased the number of remote days did so out of concern for worker productivity and retention, he said.

But some employees feel there are too many remote days. For instance, Bloom says, many younger workers want to work from home no more than two or three days each week, perhaps because unlike their older counterparts, younger employees have yet to build up their social and professional networks.

What does the future hold for remote work?

The increased embrace—or tolerance—of remote work also comes as a potential recession looms. Will remote work trends withstand a downturn?

Slashing office spending is one way for employers to cut costs. But a recession typically brings about layoffs and higher unemployment, so management may gain the upper hand eventually.

*first published in: www.weforum.org

READ ALSO

EU Actually

Is Putin flexing his (energy) muscles?

N. Peter KramerBy: N. Peter Kramer

The fact that Russia is banning the export of diesel and gasoline is causing rising prices for European car drivers further on the already tight global fuel market

View 04/2021 2021 Digital edition

Magazine

Current Issue

04/2021 2021

View past issues
Subscribe
Advertise
Digital edition

Europe

Keep channels open with Russia, say five EU states

Keep channels open with Russia, say five EU states

Foreign ministers of five central European states met in Vienna and urged that lines of communication with Russia be kept open through the OSCE to facilitate a path to peace in Ukraine

Business

Greece’s investment grade: The ongoing journey of a remarkable recovery

Greece’s investment grade: The ongoing journey of a remarkable recovery

It was back in 2010 when Greece managed to succeed in becoming the first euro-zone member to be downgraded to junk by credit rating agencies after decades of lack of fiscal discipline

MARKET INDICES

Powered by Investing.com
All contents © Copyright EMG Strategic Consulting Ltd. 1997-2023. All Rights Reserved   |   Home Page  |   Disclaimer  |   Website by Theratron