Teleworking is Not Working for the Poor, the Young, and the Women

IMF Blog, July 7, 2020

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Study covers a large sample of advanced and emerging market economies using surveys compiled by the OECD for 35 countries.
Estimate: nearly 100 million workers in 35 advanced and emerging countries (out of 189 IMF members) could be at high risk because they are unable to do their jobs remotely.
This is equivalent to 15 percent of their workforce, on average.
Work-from-home feasibility index is based on tasks actually performed within each country (not just U.S. occupation definitions).

Sectors with the least teleworkable jobs:
- Food and accommodation
- Wholesale and retail trade
- More than 20 million people in the sample who work in these sectors are at the highest risk of losing their jobs.
Country differences:
- It is much easier to telework in Norway and Singapore than in Turkey, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, and Peru.
- More than half the households in most emerging and developing countries don’t even have a computer at home.
Demographic and job-type vulnerabilities:
- Young workers and those without university education are significantly less likely to work remotely.
- Women are disproportionately concentrated in hardest-hit sectors like food service and accommodation and face heavier child care and domestic burdens.
- Part-time workers and employees of small and medium-sized firms face greater risk of job loss.
- In developing economies, part-time workers and those in informal work face a dramatically higher risk of falling into poverty.
Distributional implications:
- Workers at the bottom of the earnings distribution are least able to work remotely; the COVID-19 crisis will exacerbate income inequality.
- Low-income workers are disproportionately concentrated in hardest-hit sectors and are more likely to live hand-to-mouth with little financial buffer.

Social distancing and lockdowns threaten jobs requiring physical presence or face-to-face interactions.
Disruption of market provision of child care and domestic services increases the burden on women.
Structural shifts in consumer behavior (more e-commerce, more takeout) may reduce demand for traditional retail and restaurant jobs.

Short-term protection:
- Broaden social insurance and safety nets to cushion income and employment loss.
- Use wage subsidies and public-works programs to help affected workers regain livelihoods during recovery.
Medium- to long-term measures:
- Strengthen education and training to better prepare workers for future jobs.
- Promote lifelong learning by bolstering access to schooling and skills training for displaced workers.
- Invest in digital infrastructure and close the digital divide so disadvantaged groups can participate meaningfully in the future economy.

Source: Teleworking is Not Working for the Poor, the Young, and the Women — Mariya Brussevich, Era Dabla‑Norris, Salma Khalid, July 7, 2020.