It should also be kept in mind that, while telework allowed some firms and workers to better ‘weather the storm’, especially those who used telework before, the ability to telework during the crisis was not open to all and differential access to telework may well have exacerbated existing inequalities. This has potentially large impacts on businesses of all kinds, whether they had embraced teleworking in the past or not (OECD, 2020). During this episode, societies have undergone a large scale “forced experiment” where sectors, firms and workers have continued to operate while being physically separated, provided they had the necessary technological, legal and digital security conditions. Teleworking – “work-from-home” or “home-office” – has been a necessary practice for many firms and workers during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 crisis. This policy brief has been produced in the context of the Global Forum on Productivity and benefitted from support by its members. To improve the gains from more widespread teleworking for productivity and innovation, policy makers can promote the diffusion of managerial best practices, self-management and ICT skills, investments in home offices, and fast and reliable broadband across the country. To minimise the risks of more widespread teleworking harming long-term innovation and decreasing worker well-being, policy makers should assure that teleworking remains a choice and is not ‘overdone’ co-operation among social partners may be key to address concerns e.g. While more widespread telework in the longer-run has the potential to improve productivity and a range of other economic and social indicators (worker well-being, gender equality, regional inequalities, housing, emissions), its overall impact is ambiguous and carries risks especially for innovation and worker satisfaction.

The use of telework before the crisis varied substantially across countries, sectors, occupations and firms, which suggests a large scope for policies to contribute to the spread of teleworking. Widespread telework may remain a permanent feature of the future working environment, catalysed by the experiences made with teleworking during the COVID-19 crisis.

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