Remote work as a new dimension of polarisation: Individual and contextual determinants of the relationship between working from home and job quality

This chapter provides an empirical overview of the extent and distribution of working from home across EU member states and the changes due to its sharp rise following the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The chapter describes working from a home as an increasingly important dimension in the way new digital technologies reinforce inequalities among already existing lines. Neither the possibility to move tasks remotely nor the probability of being offered the option by your employer are equally distributed. Unfortunately, they tend to be higher for those already doing better on the labour market: those in digitally advanced sectors and larger firms, those with higher skills and doing more abstract and complex tasks, and those on standard employment contracts. On top of this unevenness in access, working from home itself also carries benefits that may increase productivity and wages. Both through access and benefits a rise in working from home then risks widening the polarisation on the labour market. This chapter shows that indeed, remote work growth mainly benefited those more advantaged on the labour market, and is itself associated with better working conditions and higher wages, although also with higher working hours. Importantly, there is substantial variation in how unequally telework grows between sectors and countries. Digital intensity increases this polarisation by working from home further, while stronger worker representation through greater union density can curtail some of this inequality.