Work From Home Won’t Work for Everyone

You'd never know it judging by all the Zoom meetings, but those fortunate enough to work from home during the pandemic are still in the minority. According to a new study by McKinsey, most workers globally can't work a full day from home without suffering productivity losses, because most of their tasks need to be done on-site. The McKinsey Global Institute analyzed more than 2,000 job tasks across more than 800 occupations.

McKinsey found that while the majority of the workforce cannot work remotely, up to one quarter in advanced economies can do so three to five days a week (see chart).