The global Covid-19 Pandemic, which has shocked the globe since the beginning of the 2020 year, has highlighted a great likelihood of the adoption of telecommuting for work. With stay-at-home orders and social distancing policy implementations, most of the world has been instructed to follow mandatory guidance in response to the rapid-spreading pandemic. While the probability of catching Covid-19, if exposed, is equal, the probability of exposure is not.

The risk disproportionately affects “essential” workers, who, by the reality of the pandemic, have been identified as, but not limited to, grocery workers, doctors, nurses, first responders, and delivery workers. Their wages fail to appropriately reflect their value amidst a global pandemic and their importance in the larger milestone of surviving the pandemic. White-collar workers have shifted their mostly stationary jobs to working from home.

Remote work is a source of socioeconomic inequality for workers in various capacities. The inequalities are related to employers, job sectors, and the impact of the loss of benefits associated with remote work. When we consider the modern nature of work, its demands depending on the type, wage, and teleworking compatibility, we can analyze the types of inequalities that may result if teleworking is broadly adopted in the future.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, less than 30% of workers can work from home.

Occupations with a large share of low income workers generally have few telecommuters. Higher wage workers are six times more likely to be able to work remotely. Additional studies have shown that without surprise, low-wage workers have the least flexibility in their jobs: Only 9.2 percent of workers in the lowest quartile of the wage distribution can telework compared with 61.5 percent of workers in the highest quartile.

Moreover, only 8.8 percent of leisure and hospitality workers are able to telework, versus more than 50 percent of workers in financial activities, professional and businesses services, and information.

What does this mean?

These disparities that exist as detailed by the statistics highlight that workers who work blue collar jobs, engage in more human-to-human activities, generally do not have the capacity to work from home. These workers are also usually in jobs that do not have many benefits such as healthcare. During a global pandemic, essential workers have been on the front lines and exposed to higher chances of contracting the virus. They do not have the luxury of opting to telecommute, and most cannot afford to not work because of their obligation to provide for necessities for themselves and/or their families.

In modern work research, individuals and organizations alike are always looking for ways to improve their work-life balance to maximize employee output and job satisfaction. Telecommuters have more opportunity to reap benefits that derive from more flexible schedules, which may also include a drastic reduction in time allotted for commuting. This allows them to enjoy other components of their lives such as leisure-friendly environments, family time, and options to eat home.

In research conducted by the Telework Research Network called WORKshift Canada: The Bottom Line on Telework, people who work from home, overall spend less on food, clothing, and transportation. Low-income workers are unable to take advantage of these benefits in addition to other financial benefits. Upper-level jobs statistically have higher incomes and are also saving more money, further highlighting the disparity.

Of the share of workers who can telework, as depicted in the chart above, White, Asian, and Non-Hispanic or Latino groups make up nearly twice as much as Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino groups. Moreover, the disparities described previously that put many workers at risk, are even higher for Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino workers since they do not have as much opportunity to telework.

Our society has operated mostly on a "breadwinner/homemaker" model, where tasks and responsibilities have oftentimes been distributed respectively to each gender. In light of the effects of a pandemic and working from home, many families have faced struggles in trying to resolve issues around this distribution. It is important to recognize that women are bearing heavy demands of maintaining households, family life and work within the same environment.

Telework will have a significant effect on the United States economy. This will particularly take place in the social relations that exist within the economy. The social dynamics that exist when groups and communities are intermixed propels society forward. However, when the nature of work begins to take two polar extremes, this can divide society more. Given its nature, it may change arrangements for child care, educational institutions, alter the wage bargain, and shift the distribution of income to tech literate individuals. Although the possibility of increasing telecommuting opportunities is very much realistic, it is important to recognize the implications of shifting the climate of work for so many people and what this means for labor, socio-economic related equality, gender equality, and racial equality.