Editorial Staff

Survey Suggests Demand for Telecommuting After COVID-19 Crisis

/in , , , , , , , , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

BOSTON – Citing an avoidance of the commute and more flexible scheduling, nearly 63 percent of respondents to Pioneer Institute’s survey, “Will You Commute To Work When The COVID-19 Crisis Is Over?” expressed a preference to work from home one day a week, and a plurality preferred two to three days a week, even after a COVID-19 vaccine is available. Respondents cite social isolation as the biggest drawback of remote work.

The survey was conducted from April 22nd to May 15th, and received responses from over 700 individuals. Pioneer is releasing a policy brief containing analysis of the survey data, entitled “Telecommuting Survey Reveals Potential for Greater Shift Towards Remote Work After COVID-19 Pandemic.”

“The survey results suggest that the pandemic may lead to significant shifts in attitudes toward commuting, with potentially large impacts on the demand for commercial real estate in major job centers, internet connectivity, and transit and transportation planning and budgeting,” said Andrew Mikula, who authored the analysis.

Fourteen percent of the survey’s respondents worked from home before the COVID-19 crisis. Respondents generally report being more productive when telecommuting. An additional 70 percent of the workforce has begun working from home in the wake of the pandemic.

Among respondents surveyed before April 25th, 20 percent said they got more work done at home, while 27 percent said they got less done. Among respondents surveyed after May 8th, 41 percent said they got more done and 13 percent said they got less done.

The effectiveness and appeal of working from home may have far-reaching consequences. While most respondents do not want to work from home all of the time, a plurality wished to work remotely 2-3 days a week. Even a single day a week of remote work for the average employee would alter revenue models for commuter services and public agencies, including state programs that rely on toll revenue.

“The MBTA and state agencies have existing relationships with riders and commuters, and they must act now to engage their customers in order to determine changes in demand resulting from the pandemic,” said Pioneer Institute Executive Director Jim Stergios. “The survey suggests that people’s attitudes are evolving quickly and in a way that is distinct from past routines. The result may be a seismic shift in ridership patterns and even a significant change in how and where employers seek talent.”

In the short term, the survey indicates that respondents are largely willing to return to their places of business upon request, even before a COVID-19 vaccine is available.

The long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will likely depend on three factors: employer policies that seek to expand or rein in remote work, public policies, and employee sentiment.

“Pioneer will conduct additional surveys in the coming months to gauge the changing sentiments of employees and employers on the topic of telecommuting,” said Stergios.

 

About the Author

Andrew Mikula is the Lovett & Ruth Peters Economic Opportunity Fellow at Pioneer Institute. Mr. Mikula was previously a Roger Perry Government Transparency Intern at Pioneer Institute and studied economics at Bates College.

 

About Pioneer

Mission

Pioneer Institute develops and communicates dynamic ideas that advance prosperity and a vibrant civic life in Massachusetts and beyond.

Vision

Success for Pioneer is when the citizens of our state and nation prosper and our society thrives because we enjoy world-class options in education, healthcare, transportation and economic opportunity, and when our government is limited, accountable and transparent.

Values

Pioneer believes that America is at its best when our citizenry is well-educated, committed to liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise, and both willing and able to test their beliefs based on facts and the free exchange of ideas.

Get Our COVID-19 News, Tips & Resources!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Related Posts:

States across the country have enacted eviction moratoriums. What does this mean for the housing market in the long-term?

Last week, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed a bill…

A Tipping Point for Telehealth – Bringing Healthcare into Your Home

0 Comments
/
This week on "Hubwonk," Joe Selvaggi and Josh Archambault talk with Dr. Roy Schoenberg, Chief Executive of Amwell, a global telehealth technology company headquartered in Boston, about the promise of telemedicine and how the COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed broader adoption.

COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: 90-day prescription refills?; Who has the power to re-open the economy?; Grading the Bay State in Online Learning; The T & COVID prevention; & more!

0 Comments
/
Pioneer staff share their top picks for COVID-19 stories highlighting useful resources, best practices, and questions we should be asking our public and private sector leaders.

Ashley Berner of Johns Hopkins on Academic Quality, Educational Pluralism, & the Providence Public Schools

0 Comments
/
This week on “The Learning Curve,” Cara and Gerard continue coverage of COVID-19’s impact on K-12 education, joined by Ashley Berner, Deputy Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy. 

New jobless claims data shows that Massachusetts unemployment has grown from 2.8% to at least 20.4% in five weeks

0 Comments
/
Based on today’s jobless claims report, Pioneer Institute projects that the current unemployment rate in Massachusetts is at least 20.4 percent, with a minimum of 762,299 currently unemployed individuals.

Study Highlights Transit Agency Best Practices in Response to COVID-19

The MBTA is taking a number of important steps to mitigate risks associated with the coronavirus, but some transit agencies around the country - from Philadelphia to San Francisco - have done significantly more, according to a new study that highlights the best practices of U.S. transit systems in response to COVID-19.

WILL YOU COMMUTE TO WORK WHEN THE COVID-19 CRISIS IS OVER?

How will you look at commuting in the future? This survey will ask over 30,000 people how their attitudes and habits will change. Please be part of our work to understand the changing world around us.

COVID-19 Roundup from Pioneer: How long does COVID-19 survive?; Remdesivir to the rescue; HubWonk: Attorneys & clients at risk? & more!

0 Comments
/
Pioneer staff share their top picks for COVID-19 stories highlighting useful resources, best practices, and questions we should be asking our public and private sector leaders.

Coronavirus & Contracts – Protecting Massachusetts Attorneys & Clients from Risk

0 Comments
/
In this episode of "Hubwonk," host Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer’s Chief Financial Officer & Director of Government Transparency, Mary Connaughton, speak with attorney and entrepreneur Kosta Ligris about how Massachusetts’ requirement for live attestation for many vital contracts is putting attorneys and clients at risk of exposure to coronavirus.

Buoy Health – Intelligent Front Door to Optimized Healthcare

0 Comments
/
In this first episode of Pioneer's new podcast, Hubwonk, host Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer Senior Fellow in Healthcare Josh Archambault talk with Dr. Andrew Le, cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Buoy Health.

Elderly people were already vulnerable to COVID-19. Then it came to nursing homes.

0 Comments
/
Last week, reports of mismanagement and negligence regarding…

Hospitality, Retail Trade, Healthcare Among ‘Most Vulnerable Industries’ in Terms of Unemployment due to COVID-19

Recent data provided by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development show that hospitality, retail trade, healthcare and social assistance, and construction are the industries that have suffered the most unemployment as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the new Pioneer Institute report, “A Look at the Massachusetts Industries that are Most Vulnerable Due to COVID-19.”