When the Covid-19 pandemic shut down physical offices and sent millions of employees home, people across the globe had to adjust to the different lifestyle of working remotely.
The remote work revolution has been lauded as an empowering lifestyle change where everyone can succeed from the comfort and convenience of their own homes, or even while on holiday. However, certain demographics are finding themselves struggling to keep up with this new normal.
Different Strokes
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers who earned a salary higher than the 75th percentile were six times more likely to be able to work from home compared to workers earning equal to and below the 25th percentile.
Data from the Fed’s Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households in 2020 indicated that 63 percent of respondents holding a bachelor’s degree or higher were working remotely. This is in sharp contrast to the 20 percent of those holding a high school degree or lower.
One significant factor is that while most office jobs catering for college-educated employees can be done remotely, low-income jobs filled by people with lower levels of education often have to be done in person.
From farmers and supermarket staff to delivery drivers and waiters, largely unskilled people do not have the luxury to stay away from the physical workplace. In addition, these workers find themselves at a higher risk of losing their jobs and incomes as businesses close down due to pandemic pressures.
A Workable Space
Another reason why lower-income workers are less able to work from home—even if they hold office positions—is that they often lack the financial resources to secure the required digital infrastructure and equipment.
The latest Computer and Internet Use in the United States report by the US Census Bureau found that a mere half of the households with an annual household income less than $25,000 owned a desktop or laptop computer and only 64.7 percent of these households subscribed to an Internet connection.
Furthermore, fewer people in low-income demographics have the comfort of a spare room or space in the house to convert into an office area. Workers are less capable of maintaining productivity and professionalism where household living space is small and shared.
As well as missing out on several benefits of computer use, this means low-income workers and their families are more likely to be forced into work environments that are risky to their health.
Caring for Children
Working mothers similarly face more obstacles in undertaking remote work because they are burdened with the extra labor of direct or indirect child care while staying at home.
Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and analyzed by the Brookings Institution found that mothers with children aged 12 years and below spent almost eight hours a day on child care during the pandemic—an equivalent of a second full-time job.
Without the financial ability to hire domestic helpers or nannies, many mothers had to leave their jobs or move into unpaid leave in order to fulfill the child care requirements of the household.
While not every remote worker is rich, there is no denying that they generally possess more financial maneuverability. As remote work becomes progressively normalized post-pandemic, policymakers should consider ways of improving remote work access for disadvantaged groups.