The Impact of COVID-19 on Workers’ Expectations and Preferences for Remote Work

We study how COVID-19 affected the prevalence, expectations, and attitudes toward remote work using specially designed surveys. The incidence of remote work remains higher than pre-pandemic levels and both men and women expect this to persist post-pandemic. Workers also report increased preference for remote work as a result of the pandemic. These changes are strongly correlated with individuals’ exposure to the pandemic induced work-from-home shock, indicating that experience with remote work during the pandemic likely shaped expectations and preferences toward WFH. The magnitude of the effects on preferences and expectations are similar across gender, marital status, and presence of children.