Remote work is establishing itself as a trend that will survive Covid—it’s estimated that the proportion of skilled employees who “work from home” will double, rising from 20% to 40%.
This will clearly have consequences: a downward pressure on office real estate prices and an upward pressure on residential real estate prices (as demand strengthens and moves upscale as people spend more time at home).
But the most interesting point raised by Natixis is the impact of remote work on inequalities. Not only does remote work almost exclusively involve skilled and highly skilled employees, but, as the figures show, it increases their productivity (+34% in the US—study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, February 2021).
Consequence: the salaries of these employees already at the top of the pyramid will increase, further widening the gap with the wages of less skilled workers, who are also the ones deprived of remote work opportunities.
A consolation? The reduction in CO2 emissions (according to ADEME, remote work reduces commuting by 70% and distances traveled by 40%). More unequal & less polluting: the world on Zoom.
