Remote Work

There is one topic that has emerged in recent years—remote work or teleworking or more recently work from home (WFH) and its impact on the office. Then in 2020 with the arrival of COVID-19 and the conversation about remote work and working from home sped as people examined the pandemics implications on the immediate nature of work both in the short and long-term. This is a topic where articles and reports from firms like Global Workplace Analytics will be important to understanding this topic during the crisis.

With the end of the public health emergency in May 2023, discussions about the return to work and hybrid schedules are increasing. Add to that, a large numbers of layoffs, particularly in the tech sector, has companies trying to understand what the future of the physical office looks going into the future.

Many of the links below relate specifically to COVID but aren't limited to it. These are just a few links to articles and resources to start with, but also see the Subscription Resources page.

"10 ways office work will never be the same" External
This article was written in March 2021 and includes thoughts on how the pandemic will shift the ideas on how we work.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
The BLS runs a "Business Response Survey" that is where much of their data come from. They will publish much of it via the Monthly Labor Review including "Telework during the COVID-19 pandemic: estimates using the 2021 Business Response Survey" (March 2022). They have also looked at "Working from home: Outlook and wages in occupations with telework" (2022) and issue press releases like "U.S. Business Response Summary" issued on March 22, 2023 looking at TELEWORK, HIRING, AND VACANCIES - 2022 DATA FROM THE BUSINESS RESPONSE SURVEY.
"Collaborating During Coronavirus: The Impact of COVID-19 on the Nature of Work" External
This paper by Evan DeFilippis, Stephen Michael Impink, Madison Singell, Jeffrey T. Polzer & Raffaella Sadun was issued in July 2020 and looks at the impact of COVID-19 on employee's digital communication patterns through an event study of lockdowns in 16 large metropolitan areas in North America, Europe and the Middle East.
"COVID-19 and Remote Work: An Early Look at US Data" [PDF, 380KB]
The article was published in April 2020 and presents and early perspective that results of a nationally-representative sample of the US
population on how they are adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"COVID-19 implications for commercial real estate" External
This is an article from Deloitte's "Deloitte Insights" publication from May 2020, looking at the implications the COVID-19 pandemic will have on commercial real estate.
"Covid and the Rise of the Digital Nomad" [PDF, 556KB] External
This is a report from MB0 Partners that was part of the 2020 State of Independence in America Report. This report defines digital nomads "as people who choose to embrace a location-independent, technology-enabled
lifestyle that allows them to travel and work remotely, anywhere in the Internet-connected world" and are unlike regular
remote workers who "tend to stay in one geographic area, digital nomads travel and explore while working." It looks specifically at the situation that rose in response to COVID restrictions.
"Employees Are Quitting Instead of Giving Up Working From Home" External
This is a Bloomberg article looks at the tension between employers wanting workers back at the office and employees not wanting to go back written in June 2021 a key time in reopening.
"Fridays in the Office: Empty" External
This is a Washington Post article that ran on July 15, 2022 which looks at a few ways business are dealing with the changes of in-office schedules some going to 4-day work week, working from home on Fridays, or offering incentives to get people to come into the office.
"The future of remote work" External
This article by Zara Abrams ran in their Vol. 50, No. 9 (October 1, 2019) Monitor on Psychology. It looks at the benefits of teleworking
COVID-19 CFO Pulse External
This report is from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) that has been tracking since March 2020, sentiment and priorities among finance leaders about the COVID-19 outbreak.
"Does Working from Home Work? Evidence from a Chinese Experiment"
This is a paper from NBER from 2013 and looks at Work from Home. It would provide a pre-COVID perspective. Authors are Nicholas Bloom, James Liang, John Roberts & Zhichun Jenny Ying. Bloom is an academic involved in WFH reserach.
The Evolution of Work from Home External
This was a survey of the work from home/productivity literature published by NBER written by Jose Maria Barrero, Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis from September 2023.
"The Flight to Quality Quantified" External
This 2022 report from CBRE
“flight to quality” has gained momentum since the pandemic started and has led to a reimagination of office space that has accelerated tenant moves to prime office properties.
Future Forum Pulse External
In June 2020, Future Forum began surveying thousands of workers and managers globally on a quarterly basis, asking them a series of questions related to productivity, sense of belonging and preferred ways of working. This report summarizes the findings of the Fall 2021 Future Forum Pulse, a survey of 10,569 knowledge workers across the U.S., Australia, France, Germany, Japan and the U.K. conducted from July 28 to August 10, 2021.
The survey was much more broad than remote work but it was begun during the pandemic shutdown but does cover issues such as telework and remote work.
"The Great Resignation: From Full-Time to Freelance" External
This is a report from freelance firm Upwork published in 2021 that looks at attitudes towards remote work in the wake of COVID.
"Inequality of Who Gets to Work from Home" External
This is a December 2023 piece from Harvard Business Review looking at those jobs that more likely to be remove versus those that aren't.
KMPG 2020 CEO Outlook: COVID-19 Special Edition External
This is a much cited survey of surveyed 315 chief executives in Australia, Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States between July 6 and Aug. 5 released in August 2020. Among other topics like supply chain issues, technology use, it found 69% will be downsizing office space and using more digital collaboration and communication tools which will expand the pool they can draw from when hiring.
"Many people don’t want to work unless it’s from home" External
This is a Vox article about the changing nature of the work environment post-COVID.
Nicholas Bloom External
Bloom is the William D. Eberle Professor in Economics and has been studying the future of work and hybrid work environments and has been quoted in many articles in publications like "Remote work guru Nick Bloom thinks we’ll never go back to the office full-time—but ‘maintaining discipline is important’" in Fortune (November 6, 2023). He is involved with WFH Research and the Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes.
Our Work from Anywhere Future External
This report was published in December 202 from Harvard Business Review and a version of this article appeared in the November–December 2020 print issue of Harvard Business Review. Looks at some of the history of remote work and offers some best practices for all-remote organizations.
Pew Research Center External
Pew researches in many areas and published many reports and articles related to remote work during COVID shutdowns including "COVID-19 Pandemic Continues To Reshape Work in America" (February 2022) and "About a third of U.S. workers who can work from home now do so all the time" (March 2023). This is a sister to the Pew Charitable Trusts that also published but through a different cite.
Return to Workplace Survey (2021) External
This in a 2021 a survey of their clients by accounting and consulting firm Deloitte looked at how they were approaching their return to the workplace.
State of the Global Workplace External
This is an annual report produced by Gallup.
U.S. Remote Work Survey External
The tagline for this PwC survey is "It’s time to reimagine where and how work will get done" and it was published in January 2021 and it surveyed 133 US executives between November 24 and December 5, 2020. The general conclusion was "business leaders are more convinced about the productivity gains achieved, but some are no closer to giving up the office."
WFH Research External
This a group of academics with support from the private sector and nonprofits runs the U.S. Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes (SWAA). It publishes data and reports.
What 800 executives envision for the postpandemic workforce External
This report from McKinsey Global Institute was published in September 2020 interviews with 800 corporative executives. It looks at what may be in store for the post pandemic workforce beginning with a disruptive period and the continued adoption of digitization and automation technologies.
"Why the 'Great Remote Work Experiment' may have been flawed" External
This is a piece from the BBC that looks at how working from home during the pandemic may not look the same as working from home on a more permanent basis.
"Why the return to the office isn’t working" External
This June 2022 article is a look at the office v. work from home conflict once more employees were asked to come into the office
Work Redefined External
This is a series of videos from "The Hill" newspaper from September 2020.
Session 1: Coronavirus and the Workplace
Session 2: Technology @ Work
Session 3: The New Workforce
Workplace Occupancy/Back to Work Barometer External
This is a weekly report from Kastle Systems. where they studying keycard, fob and KastlePresence app access data from the 2,600 buildings and 41,000 businesses they secure across 47 states.
"'Working' Remotely? Selection, Treatment, and Market Provision of Remote Work (JMP)" External
This is a staff paper (Number 1061; May 2023) by Emma Harrington and Natalia Emanuel and looks at the prevalence and attitude towards remote work prior to the pandemic with a focus on productivity.

History of the Office and Office Equipment: A Resource Guide

Remote Work