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Time Savings When Working from Home

Author

Listed:
  • Cevat Giray Aksoy
  • Jose Maria Barrero
  • Nicholas Bloom
  • Steven J. Davis
  • Mathias Dolls
  • Pablo Zarate

Abstract

We quantify the commute time savings associated with work from home, drawing on data for 27 countries. The average daily time savings when working from home are 72 minutes in our sample. We estimate that work from home saved about two hours per week per worker in 2021 and 2022, and that it will save about one hour per week per worker after the pandemic ends. Workers allocate 40 percent of their time savings to their jobs and about 11 percent to caregiving activities. People living with children allocate more of their time savings to caregiving.

Suggested Citation

  • Cevat Giray Aksoy & Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Mathias Dolls & Pablo Zarate, 2023. "Time Savings When Working from Home," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 113, pages 597-603, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:113:y:2023:p:597-603
    DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20231013
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    Cited by:

    1. Ursula Berresheim, 2026. "Work from Home, Work for Less? How Workplace Flexibility Affects Mothers’ Careers," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2025_733, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    2. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J Davis & Mathias Dolls & Pablo Zarate, 2023. "Working from Home Around the Globe: 2023 Report," EconPol Policy Brief 53, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    3. Tahlyan, Divyakant & Mahmassani, Hani & Stathopoulos, Amanda & Said, Maher & Shaheen, Susan & Walker, Joan & Johnson, Breton, 2024. "In-person, hybrid or remote? Employers’ perspectives on the future of work post-pandemic," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    4. Ghinami, Francesca, 2023. "Effects of remote work on population distribution across cities: US evidence from a QSE model," SocArXiv krnzq, Center for Open Science.
    5. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Victoria Marino & Cem Ozguzel, 2025. "Remote Work, Employee Mix, and Performance," NBER Working Papers 33851, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Benjamin Schneider & Jane Whittle, 2024. "Where is the Place in the History of Work? Worksites, Workspaces, and the Home-Work Nexus," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _213, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    7. Meister, Lorenz & Menkhoff, Lukas & Schröder, Carsten, 2025. "Stock market participation, work from home, and inequality," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    8. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Katelyn Cranney & Steven J. Davis & Mathias Dolls & Pablo Zarate, 2026. "Younger Firms and CEOs Allow More Work from Home," NBER Working Papers 34795, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Lalinsky, Tibor & Anyfantaki, Sofia & Benkovskis, Konstantins & Bergeaud, Antonin & Bun, Maurice & Bunel, Simon & Colciago, Andrea & De Mulder, Jan & Lopez, Beatriz Gonzalez & Jarvis, Valerie & Krasno, 2024. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and policy support on productivity," Occasional Paper Series 341, European Central Bank.
    10. 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).
    11. Zarate, Pablo & Dolls, Mathias & Davis, Steven & Bloom, Nicholas & Barrero, Jose Maria & Aksoy, Cevat Giray, 2024. "Why Does Working from Home Vary Across Countries and People?," CEPR Discussion Papers 19003, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. Lewandowski, Piotr & Lipowska, Katarzyna & Smoter, Mateusz, 2024. "Preference for working from home – subjective perceptions of COVID-19 matter more than objective information on occupational exposure to contagion," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    13. Giuseppe Croce & Lavinia Stendardo d'Astuto, 2026. "Does work from home improve matching in the labour market? First evidence from European countries," Working Papers in Public Economics 271, Department of Economics and Law, Sapienza University of Rome.
    14. Rainald Borck & Matthias Kalkuhl & Kai Lessmann, 2025. "Is Work from Home Good for the Environment?," CESifo Working Paper Series 12300, CESifo.
    15. Coskun, Sena & Dauth, Wolfgang & Gartner, Hermann & Stops, Michael & Weber, Enzo, 2026. "Working from home increases work–home distances," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    16. Feuillade, Mylène & Goux, Dominique & Maurin, Eric, 2025. "Rise in Home Working and Spousal Labor Supply," IZA Discussion Papers 17997, IZA Network @ LISER.
    17. Lee, Kangoh, 2023. "Working from home as an economic and social change: A review," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    18. Andreas Kotsadam & Mette Løvgren & Nicolas Moreau & Elena Stancanelli & Arthur van Soest, 2025. "When Gender Kicks in: an Experimental Study of Work from Home and Attitudes to Household Work and Childcare," PSE Working Papers halshs-05423519, HAL.
    19. Mert Akan & Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Thomas Bowen & Shelby R. Buckman & Steven J. Davis & Hyoseul Kim, 2025. "The New Geography of Labor Markets," NBER Working Papers 33582, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. 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:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • 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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