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The role of telework for productivity during and post-COVID-19: Results from an OECD survey among managers and workers

Author

Listed:
  • Chiara Criscuolo
  • Peter Gal
  • Timo Leidecker
  • Francesco Losma
  • Giuseppe Nicoletti

Abstract

Motivated by the sudden adoption of telework in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Global Forum on Productivity (GFP) undertook an online survey among managers and workers in 25 countries about their experience and expectations, with a particular focus on productivity and well-being. This paper presents analysis and results from this endeavour. It finds that managers and workers had an overall positive assessment from teleworking both for firm performance and for individual well-being, and wish to increase substantially the share of regular teleworkers from pre-crisis levels. Respondents, on average, find that the ideal amount of telework is around 2-3 days per week, in line with other recent evidence and with the idea that the benefits (e.g., less commuting, fewer distractions) and costs (e.g., impaired communication and knowledge flows) need to be balanced at an intermediate level of telework intensity. To meet the challenges of this “hybrid” working mode, as the survey finds, further changes from management are needed, such as the co-ordination of schedules to encourage a sufficient degree of in-person interaction, and further investment in ICT tools and skills as well as more soft skills to master online communication.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiara Criscuolo & Peter Gal & Timo Leidecker & Francesco Losma & Giuseppe Nicoletti, 2021. "The role of telework for productivity during and post-COVID-19: Results from an OECD survey among managers and workers," OECD Productivity Working Papers 31, OECD Publishing.
  • Handle: RePEc:oec:ecoaac:31-en
    DOI: 10.1787/7fe47de2-en
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    Cited by:

    1. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Mathias Dolls & Pablo Zarate, 2022. "Working from Home Around the World," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 53(2 (Fall)), pages 281-360.
    2. Antonin Bergeaud & Jean Benoit Eymeoud & Thomas Garcia & Dorian Henricot, 2022. "Working from home and corporate real estate," CEP Discussion Papers dp1831, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    3. Abrardi Laura & Grinza Elena & Manello Alessandro & Porta Flavio, 2022. "Work From Home Arrangements and Organizational Performance in Italian SMEs: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic," Working papers 076, Department of Economics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.
    4. Erdsiek, Daniel & Rost, Vincent, 2022. "Working from home after COVID-19: Firms expect a persistent and intensive shift," ZEW Expert Briefs 22-06, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    5. Bergeaud, Antonin & Eyméoud, Jean-Benoît & Garcia, Thomas & Henricot, Dorian, 2023. "Working from home and corporate real estate," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    6. Begoña Urien, 2023. "Teleworkability, Preferences for Telework, and Well-Being: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-32, July.
    7. Anna Matysiak & Agnieszka Kasperska & Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska, 2023. "Mechanisms Underlying the Effects of Work From Home on Careers in the Post-Covid Context," Working Papers 2023-28, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    productivity; survey; telework; well-being; working from home;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • M1 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

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