Infographic: How Many Hours in the Remote Work Week?

The move to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic has led some experts to wonder whether white collar and professional jobs will ever return to the status quo ante. A lot of that depends on how readily the discrete activities that make up jobs can be done without face-to-face contact.

The McKinsey Global Institute published a report in November 2020 that tapped the consultancy’s model of more than 2,000 occupational activities to see which jobs and industrial sectors could make working remotely an enduring normal. As shown below, employees in sectors such as finance and professional services could spend three days a week or more working remotely with little loss of productivity. Meanwhile, on-site work will be needed most days in the manufacturing and utility sector.