THE LOCKDOWNS of 2020 represented an unprecedented shock to office life. Overnight, companies the world over were forced into a giant experiment in working from home (WFH) that few firms would ever have dared try of their own volition. At the peak in the spring of 2020, some 60% of total working hours in America were conducted from people’s living rooms, kitchens and, for the lucky few, home offices. The results of this experiment are in, and they suggest that many of these novel working practices will endure. And for the better.
For workers, the great WFH experiment has gone fairly well. Adjusting to the new regime was not easy for everyone—especially those living in small flats, or with children to home-school. Yet on average workers report higher levels of satisfaction and happiness. Respondents to surveys suggest that they would like to work from home nearly 50% of the time, up from 5% before the pandemic, with the remainder in the office. But people’s actual behaviour suggests that their true preference is to spend even more time in their pyjamas. How else to explain why, even in places where the threat from covid-19 is low, offices are only a third full?
Few managers seem keen on so much remote working. According to a survey by three economists, José Maria Barrero, Nick Bloom and Steven Davis, firms expect that around a quarter of all work hours will be done from home in a post-covid world—about half...
Every couple of years, the same false stories come back. A claim that an election was rigged before a single vote was cast. An old video of violence, stripped of its date and place, presented as b...