What’s Next for Remote Work?

According to McKinsey’s report ‘What’s next for remote work: An analysis of 2,000 tasks, 800 jobs, and nine countries (November 2020)’, the potential for remote work is determined by tasks and activities, not occupations. It depends on the mix of activities undertaken in each occupation and on their physical, spatial, and interpersonal context.

The first diagram shows the potential for remote work according to different activities:

The researchers found that remote work potential is concentrated in a few sectors. Finance and insurance have the highest potential with three-quarters of time spent on activities that can be done remotely without a loss of productivity. Next will be management, business services, and information technology. These sectors are characterized by a high share of workers with college degrees or higher.

The third diagram shows remote work potential varies across countries. Advanced economies have higher potential in remote work. For instance, in UK, business and financial services constitute a large share of the country’s economy. The workforce could theoretically work remotely one-third of the time without any loss of productivity.

A hybrid model that combines some remote work with work in an office is possible for occupations with high remote work potential. In the US workforce, McKinsey found that 22 percent of employees could work remotely between three and five days a week without affecting productivity, while only 5 percent could do so in India.

With nine months of experience working remotely, more employers are seeing somewhat better productivity from their remote workers. Some managements express confidence that remote work can continue. Meanwhile, some others say they see few positives to remote work.

Employees too have gained experience working remotely during the pandemic, and their own confidence in their productivity has grown. The number of people saying they worked more productively has increased by 45 percent.

Some forms of remote work are likely to persist long after the pandemic. This will require many shifts, such as investment in digital infrastructure, freeing up office space, and the structural transformation of cities, food services, commercial real estate, and retail. It also risks accentuating inequalities and creating new psychological and emotional stresses among employees, including from isolation. However, by removing the requirement to be in a physical office, businesses can provide access to new talent pools like working mothers, veterans and people with disabilities. No matter what, the new working normal may transform us into a better society with more flexibility and higher productivity.

 

Reference:

What’s next for remote work: An analysis of 2,000 tasks, 800 jobs, and nine countries, McKinsey Global Institute (November 2020)

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