University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most workers were tied to fixed locations and schedules, often necessitating long, stressful commutes that researchers have linked to reduced productivity, and lower overall well-being. During the pandemic, the need for social distancing, together with ongoing advances in communication technologies, led many firms and employees to embrace remote and hybrid work arrangements. Now, in the post-pandemic era, many employees prefer these arrangement and are resisting employers’ “return-to-office” mandates. What is the state of working from home and commuting post-pandemic? We examined this question using data from the 2022 National Household Travel Survey.