Work in the Post-Pandemic World
Research shows that a large percentage of U.S. workers will continue to work from home at least part of the week, with significant implications for the economy and the built environment
By Thomas Fisher, Assoc. AIA | March 25, 2021
As more people spend more time working at home, offices will need to offer more home comforts, like this light-filled seating area in the Gensler Minneapolis office. Photo by Bill Baxley, AIA.
FEATURE
Pandemics accelerate us into the future and also reveal dysfunctions that we need to address. The COVID-19 pandemic sped up many trends already underway, one of which was working from home, or telecommuting. Prior to the pandemic, 20 percent of the U.S. workforce worked from home; the number grew to 71 percent once the coronavirus came, and there’s no going back: 54 percent report that they want to continue to work from home, at least part of the week, once the pandemic ends. At the same time, the acceleration of telecommuting has highlighted inequities among those with different levels of education and income: 62 percent of college-educated people work from home, while only 23 percent without a college degree can; likewise, 76 percent of lower-income employees cannot work remotely, compared to 44 percent with high incomes.
This has major implications for the built environment, for both the traditional workplace as well as the home office. The world’s largest architecture firm, Gensler, has tracked global workplace trends, with indications of how the home and office may change going forward. In a survey of over 2,300 U.S. workers, 29 percent indicated they want to return full-time to an office because they see it as a place where they are more productive, with better access to technology and needed workspace, while 71 percent want to telecommute at least part of every week because they see the home as the place where they can be more productive and comfortable while saving money, reducing commuting time, and avoiding distractions. Of course, these preferences are shaped by what one has at home and the office. A survey by the consulting firm Morning Consult highlights both the good and bad aspects of working at home: Among those who like telecommuting, 67 percent say working at home makes them feel more connected to their family, while among those who don’t, 74 percent say that it blurs work and family life and 58 percent say they feel disconnected from coworkers.
Residential districts will likely need to change, with coworking spaces, childcare facilities, and technology hubs within a reasonable proximity to a large number of home-based workers.
These data suggest that the home office is here to stay, and that single-family homes and multifamily buildings will need to provide distraction-free workspace, high-bandwidth Internet access, and perhaps some meeting and maker space as well. Residential districts will likely need to change too, with coworking spaces, childcare facilities, and technology hubs within a reasonable proximity to a large number of home-based workers. These surveys also indicate a need for offices to become more home-like. In order to remain relevant, the office will have to incorporate some of the features that many people like about working from home: comfortable furniture, softer lighting, access to food and beverages. The Gensler research captures the changing attitudes: While 69 percent of those surveyed worked in open offices prior to the pandemic and only 21 percent had enclosed offices, almost half—47 percent—would prefer a more private work environment, like they have at home.
These trends also represent a profound shift in our economy. Stanford University economist Nicolas Bloom estimates that more than two-thirds of the U.S. economy now comes from people working at home, recalling the preindustrial era when a majority of people worked on farms and homesteads, producing much of what they needed. We may see a high-tech version of that era in a post-industrial future, in which many people not only telecommute to work but also 3D-print some of what they need and have much of the rest delivered to their door. This, in turn, may affect where people choose to live. While rural America has struggled in recent decades to attract and retain residents—metropolitan areas have seen almost all of the job growth since the last recession—rural areas and small towns with good Internet access will be increasingly attractive to remote workers looking for more affordable housing or a change in lifestyle. University of Utah researchers have found that what they call “gateway communities” or “Zoom towns” have grown faster than many metropolitan areas with the rise of remote work.
Employment conditions for the 26 percent of workers who cannot work remotely have also changed. While delivery jobs were already the fastest growing job in the U.S. prior to the pandemic, increasing by 22 percent between January 2018 and January 2020, that trend accelerated once COVID-19 arrived. The pandemic has made delivery vehicles workplaces for many employees and changed our transportation infrastructure at the same time. Streets and highways have become less crowded: Texas A&M researchers have documented how telecommuting can largely eliminate congestion and most rush-hour traffic. Delivery vehicles becoming commonplace in many communities puts a premium on curbside parking and pick-up stalls in retail parking lots.
The pandemic has given many people more choices in how and where they work, but everyone, regardless of income or educational level, needs to have equal opportunities to choose. Essential workers make remote work possible for everyone else.
This article is the first in a three-part series by Thomas Fisher, Assoc. AIA, a professor in the School of Architecture and director of the Minnesota Design Center (MDC) at the University of Minnesota. The articles are based on research the MDC has done this past year on the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on how Minnesotans live, work, shop, and learn. Funded by the McKnight Foundation, the research has been the focus of a series of community workshops, a Grand Challenge course, a U College of Design webinar series, a pandemic-year blog, and a podcast series. Fisher is also writing a book on this subject, which Routledge will publish in 2022. This work continues the 35-year history of the MDC, which is dedicated to improving the built environment and the systems that shape that environment in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest through the use of design as an empathetic, creative, and community-based process.
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