Working from Home and Changes in Work Characteristics during COVID-19

Abstract

A relatively high proportion of U.S. workers started working from home during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. There has been extensive tracking of employment trends, but it is less clear what kind of impact working from home during the pandemic has had on job experiences. The authors use data from the October 2020 Pew Research Center American Trends Panel. On the basis of a sample of 4,508 respondents, the authors find that working from home improves job satisfaction, flexibility over when to put in one’s work hours, work-family balance, productivity, and work hours. Working from home reduces connectedness to coworkers, job security, and opportunities for advancement. The benefits for both workers and employers of working from home may encourage working from home even after the pandemic.

Since the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there has been an increase in the proportion of U.S. employees working from home. As of May 2020, half of workers were working from home, with 35 percent having switched from commuting to working at home and the other 15 percent working from home both before and during the pandemic (Brynjolfsson et al. 2020). After peaking in May, about two fifths of workers worked from home at least some days through the remainder of 2020 (Bick, Blandin, and Mertens 2021). Although several researchers have tracked employment trends during COVID-19, less is known about how working from home during the pandemic has shaped workers’ job experiences.

We use data from the October 2020 Pew Research Center American Trends Panel to examine retrospective reports of change in job characteristics compared with before the coronavirus outbreak. We use generalized ordered logit models allowing some slopes to vary between two equations (i.e., the first equation predicting “no change” or “increased” and the second equation predicting “increased”). Our analysis shows that, except for the model of connection, working from home matters more to explain the probability of reporting an “increased” job characteristic rather than a “decreased” characteristic (see Table A3 in the supplemental file). Our data visualization (Figure 1) is a plot of the average marginal effects of working from home, relative to commuters, on perceived change in flexibility over when to work, work-family balance, job satisfaction, number of hours worked, productivity, supervisor expectations, opportunities for advancement, job security, and connection to coworkers.

Figure I.

Average marginal effects of working from home on perceived change in job characteristics since the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic began (n = 4,508).

Findings

Improved Flexibility, Work-Family Balance, and Job Satisfaction

Those who work from home are more likely to say that their work time flexibility (26 percent), work-family balance (20 percent), and job satisfaction (8 percent) increased during COVID-19 compared with commuters. In preliminary analysis, those who work from home because they are required experience similar advantages although the advantage in job satisfaction is significantly less for these workers than those who work from home by choice.

Increased Work Hours and Productivity

Those who work from home are more likely to say that their work hours and work productivity increased during COVID-19. Compared with commuters, those who work from home are 11 percent more likely to report an increase in work hours. Those who work from home are 7 percent more likely than commuters to report an increase in productivity. As the graph shows, the line for decreased productivity is also in the same, positive direction. However, the effect on decreased productivity is smaller and not significant.

Reduced Connectedness to Coworkers

Those who work from home are 23 percent more likely than commuters to report less connectedness to their coworkers. Those who work from home are also more likely to report reduced job security and fewer opportunities for advancement, but these differences are small.

Discussion

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the number of people who work from home, and this has consequences for a host of job characteristics. Our findings show that working from home leaves employees with increased flexibility, job satisfaction, and feelings of balance. This is consistent with the overall trend of declining work-family conflict during the pandemic (Schieman et al. 2021) and the overwhelmingly positive feelings toward working from home (Dubey and Tripathi 2020). Working from home also seems to increase productivity and work hours, which may be due to less time commuting, less time on social activities, or other benefits of controlling one’s work environment (Choudhury, Foroughi, and Larson 2021). There are some downsides to working from home, including reduced connectedness to coworkers. Those who work from home may miss face-to-face interactions with their coworkers and experience more isolation than those who continue to go to a physical workplace. Overall, our research suggests that many workers may want to continue working from home even after pandemic conditions abate.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-srd-10.1177_23780231211052784 – Supplemental material for Working from Home and Changes in Work Characteristics during COVID-19

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-srd-10.1177_23780231211052784 for Working from Home and Changes in Work Characteristics during COVID-19 by Gayle Kaufman and Hiromi Taniguchi in Socius