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The Impact of COVID-19 on Workers' Expectations and Preferences for Remote Work

Author

Listed:
  • Yuting Chen
  • Patricia Cortes
  • Gizem Kosar
  • Jessica Pan
  • Basit Zafar

Abstract

We study how COVID-19 affected the prevalence, expectations, and attitudes toward remote work using specially designed surveys. The incidence of remote work remains higher than prepandemic levels, and both men and women expect this to persist postpandemic. Workers also report increased preference for remote work as a result of the pandemic. These changes are strongly correlated with individuals' exposure to the pandemic-induced work-from-home shock, indicating that experience with remote work during the pandemic likely shaped expectations and preferences toward WFH. The magnitude of the effects on preferences and expectations are similar across gender, marital status, and presence of children.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuting Chen & Patricia Cortes & Gizem Kosar & Jessica Pan & Basit Zafar, 2023. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Workers' Expectations and Preferences for Remote Work," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 113, pages 556-561, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:113:y:2023:p:556-61
    DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231090
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    Cited by:

    1. Burdett, Ashley & Etheridge, Ben & Tang, Li & Wang, Yikai, 2024. "Worker productivity during Covid-19 and adaptation to working from home," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Yang, Heetae, 2024. "The utility of remote work solutions in the post-pandemic era: Exploring the mediating effects of productivity and work flexibility," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Afridi, Farzana & Basistha, Ahana & Dhillon, Amrita & Serra, Danila, 2023. "Can Crises Affect Citizen Activism? Evidence from a Pandemic," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 693, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    4. Guo, Naijia & Leung, Charles Ka Yui & Zhang, Shumeng, 2025. "From pandemics to portfolios: Long-term impacts of the 2009 H1N1 outbreak on household investment choices," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    5. Gabriella Conti & Michele Giannola & Alessandro Toppeta, 2024. "Parental beliefs, perceived health risks, and time investment in children," IFS Working Papers W24/15, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    6. Sabrina Wulff Pabilonia & Victoria Vernon, 2025. "Remote work, wages, and hours worked in the United States," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 38(1), pages 1-49, March.
    7. Benjamin Cowan, 2024. "Time use, college attainment, and the working-from-home revolution," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 37(3), pages 1-27, September.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • M54 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Labor Management

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