Pass the Remote : Why We Can't All Work From Home

In recent years, there has been a trend towards greater incidence of homeworking. This has been driven by enhanced technological possibilities, but also by supply and demand factors. There is some evidence that homeworking can boost productivity, but not all workers are suited to home work and some might find the isolation problematic. Headline totals of full-time home workers are misleading. The bulk of those classified are self-employed, and only a minority corresponds to the popular image of workers in "home offices" in front of a computer screen. Regular home workers are a relatively privileged group, many in professional and managerial roles. They are older than the average member of the workforce and better paid. The current lockdown means more will be working at home, but it seems unlikely that more than 15% of healthy workers confined to home will be able to work productively for their employer or their business. Those who cannot work productively include many younger workers who are normally employed in bars, restaurants, hotels and retail outlets, but also include self-employed skilled workers who normally go out to serve clients and customers from a home base. The requirement for a substantial period of home isolation is a more serious matter for these groups, both in terms of current incomes and future prospects, than it is for the journalists, politicians, academics, and think-tankers who dominate public discourse