But tough-minded employers also will need more than idle threats when their workers can easily find another job. Getting workers back to the office will take more than incidental benefits like snacks and free coffee. We’ll see how telework plays out, especially if the labor market turns sour and employers can demand more from their workforces. This is especially worrisome for HR departments and employment lawyers.įor now, as Forbes contributor Edward Segal wrote last November, employers are struggling to figure out what incentives might get workers back to the office, at least part of the time. Since that unpaid work falls heavily on women, some worry hybrid work will create a new “mommy track,” limiting women’s future career opportunities. Many human resource professionals reportedly see hybrid work as an “effective recruiting tool,” especially for those with child or dependent care responsibilities. Some research suggests “employees who have become accustomed to hybrid work” would give up some salary in order to not commute five days a week, and higher-salaried workers would be more willing to do so. A good portion of that percentage is likely what economists call “frictional” unemployment-mostly made up of people changing jobs, transitioning from school, relocating geographically, etc.įacing this tight labor market, especially for higher educated and technical workers, employers may have to offer hybrid work or other inducements. But it’s even lower for adult workers with a college degree or higher-a very low 2.1%. Unemployment is currently very low for the entire labor force-3.7% in May. GitLab, an open source software firm that has been office-less for over a decade, codified its remote-work best practices in a book that can be downloaded. The concentration of telework among higher educated workers is another reason why employers are struggling to get them back to the office. This also means teleworkers are disproportionately white and hold higher incomes. In contrast, only 16% of the higher educated group reported no telework at all, compared to 37% of the high-school-educated respondents. And research has shown that workers with college or post-graduate degrees are both more able, and more likely, to telework.įor example, the Census Bureau’s weekly Household Pulse Survey recently reported 44% of respondents with college degrees or higher reported some hybrid work, compared to only 27% of those with a high school diploma or GED. workers overall (61%) do not have jobs that can be done from home.”Įarlier BLS research found telework concentrated in business, financial, and technology jobs, many of which require college degrees. In fact, Pew reports “the majority of U.S. In contrast, the Pew figures are for people “with a teleworkable job,” so it stands to reason its percentage is higher. The Pew Research Center recently reported 41% of “employed adults with a teleworkable job” are working from home “some or most of the time,” while 35% report of them report working from home “all of the time.” How do observers reconcile these differences?įirst, remember the BLS report covers all establishments, including industries where there’s very little teleworking-retail trade, construction, hotel accommodations and food services.
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