Bonacini Luca, Gallo Giovanni, Scicchitano Sergio
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
National Institute for Public Policies Analysis (INAPP), Corso d'Italia 33, 00198 Rome, Italy.
J Popul Econ. 2021;34(1):303-360. doi: 10.1007/s00148-020-00800-7. Epub 2020 Sep 12.
In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, working from home (WFH) became of great importance for a large share of employees since it represents the only option to both continue working and minimise the risk of virus exposure. Uncertainty about the duration of the pandemic and future contagion waves even led companies to view WFH as a 'new normal' way of working. Based on influence function regression methods, this paper explores the potential consequences in the labour income distribution related to a long-lasting increase in WFH feasibility among Italian employees. Results show that a positive shift in WFH feasibility would be associated with an increase in average labour income, but this potential benefit would not be equally distributed among employees. Specifically, an increase in the opportunity to WFH would favour male, older, high-educated, and high-paid employees. However, this 'forced innovation' would benefit more employees living in provinces have been more affected by the novel coronavirus. WFH thus risks exacerbating pre-existing inequalities in the labour market, especially if it will not be adequately regulated. As a consequence, this study suggests that policies aimed at alleviating inequality, like income support measures (in the short run) and human capital interventions (in the long run), should play a more important compensating role in the future.
在当前新冠疫情的背景下,居家办公对很大一部分员工来说变得至关重要,因为这是既能继续工作又能将病毒暴露风险降至最低的唯一选择。疫情持续时间和未来传染波的不确定性甚至促使企业将居家办公视为一种“新常态”的工作方式。基于影响函数回归方法,本文探讨了意大利员工中居家办公可行性长期增加对劳动收入分配的潜在影响。结果表明,居家办公可行性的正向变化将与平均劳动收入的增加相关,但这种潜在收益不会在员工中平均分配。具体而言,居家办公机会的增加将有利于男性、年龄较大、受教育程度高和高薪的员工。然而,这种“被迫创新”将使更多居住在受新冠病毒影响更严重省份的员工受益。因此,居家办公有加剧劳动力市场中现有不平等的风险,尤其是在缺乏适当监管的情况下。因此,本研究表明,旨在缓解不平等的政策,如(短期内的)收入支持措施和(长期内的)人力资本干预措施,未来应发挥更重要的补偿作用。