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Work from Home and Disability Employment

Author

Listed:
  • Nicholas Bloom
  • Gordon B. Dahl
  • Dan-Olof Rooth

Abstract

There has been a dramatic rise in disability employment since the pandemic. At the same time, work from home (WFH) has risen four-fold. This paper asks whether the two are causally related. Controlling for compositional changes and labor market tightness, a 1 percentage point increase in WFH increases full-time employment by 1.0% for individuals with a physical disability. The postpandemic increase in working from home explains 68%-85% of the rise in full-time employment. Wage data suggests that WFH increased the supply of workers with a physical disability, likely by reducing commuting costs and enabling better control of working conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicholas Bloom & Gordon B. Dahl & Dan-Olof Rooth, 2026. "Work from Home and Disability Employment," CESifo Working Paper Series 12604, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12604
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. Charles Bellemare & Ibrahima Sory Aissatou Diallo & Marion Goussé, 2025. "Disability, discrimination, and the effectiveness of wage subsidies: A job-search approach," CIRANO Working Papers 2025s-04, CIRANO.

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    JEL classification:

    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets

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