We don’t want to over-egg this. Pundits who imagine everyone who is able will now want to work at home and to holiday locally have lost their marbles. Human beings are footloose and need each other’s physical company. FT Lex 01/05/2020
The current discussion on the ‘new normal’ has included the view that there will be an increased demand for the ability to work remotely. Before we proceed further with that thinking let me pick up on the quote above and identify Who is able to perform their work remotely:
A recent study How Many Jobs Can be Done at Home?http://www.nber.org/papers/w26948.pdf
States that 37% of jobs in the US could be done from home.
The most capable of industries are Educational services, Professional/technical services, business management, Finance & insurance and Information
Another study looking at Italy Italian Workers at Risk during the COVID-19 Epidemic https://www.ssrn.com/abstract=3572065
Has a similar set of capable sectors; Information & communication, Professional services, Finance, International organisations and real estate
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So a ‘New normal’ of home working will not be possible for nearly 2/3rds of jobs
In the easing of the lockdown, there is a view that to keep older workers safe from infection they should be kept at home with younger workers returning to the workplace. https://voxeu.org/article/transition-steps-stop-covid-19-without-killing-world-economy.
So should an easing of the lockdown be done by sector; with those that can work remotely being ‘unlocked’ last, or with an additional weighting of the average age of the workforce being added as a consideration or simply ‘unlocking’ the youngest workers regardless of sector?
