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Nick Bloom
@I_Am_NickBloom
Stanford Economics Professor, research on Working From Home, co-founder of wfhresearch.com
Stanford, USA
nbloom.people.stanford.edu
Joined December 2019
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  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Aug 29, 2022
    The shift to WFH is the largest shock to labor markets in decades. Pre-pandemic WFH was trending towards 5% of days by 2022. Now WFH is now stabilizing at 30%, a 6-fold jump. In America alone this is saving about 200 million hours and 6 billion miles of commuting a week.
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Jan 27, 2022
    WFH saves employees about 70 minutes a day on average. Most (about 60 minutes) from no commute, and the rest (about 10 minutes) from less preparation in the morning. About 1/2 of this saved time goes to working more and 1/2 to leisure/tasks, so employers and employees benefit.
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Feb 10, 2024
    Important paper showing the gains to mothers and society from WFH. A 10% increase in WFH is shown to increase mothers employment by 1%. This is particularly true in professions which are more family unfriendly, like finance and marketing. Two implications: 1) WFH is driving
    434K
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Feb 24, 2023
    In the UK there is now rationing of fruit and vegetables. This last happened in World War II. The BBC reported Brexit supporters claiming it has nothing to do with leaving the EU, but is entirely due to bad weather in Southern Europe :-)
    338K
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Jul 2, 2023
    New Stanford paper on working from home stanford.io/3JHqfrQ Some key points: 1) WFH is up 500% since 2019 2) Fully-remote is much cheaper, but can lower productivity 3) Hybrid improves retention, with no productivity loss 4) WFH will keep growing as technology improves
    361K
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Jan 26, 2024
    New paper studying the impact of 137 Return to Office mandates on S&P500 firms from 2020-2023. Three key results: 1) RTO mandates are more likely in firms with poor recent stock performance, and in those with powerful male CEOs. 2) Glassdoor data finds RTO mandates
    383K
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Sep 30, 2023
    It is frustrating reading articles on the productivity impact of WFH based on anecdotes from CEOs and politicians. These policies impact millions of employees, so should be grounded in data and research. I summarized for The Hill what we know, covering the three main sources.
    301K
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Dec 29, 2022
    Another indicator that #WFH is permanent: public transit journeys stabilizing at 35% below 2019 levels. This raises concerns over the survival of public transit systems. Costs are heavily fixed - think train and subway networks - but revenue is way down with 35% less journeys.
    479K
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Jul 17, 2023
    There is a debate on the impact of #Brexit. Brexit reduced UK GDP by 6% to 11% vs Europe and North America. This is a loss of £2,000 to £3,500 per person per year. In comparison the UK spend just £3,477 on the NHS per person in 2021. Source: updated nber.org/papers/w26218
    593K
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Jul 29, 2023
    Maybe the biggest indicator WFH is permanent is that online shopping, eating out, sports attendance, travel and most other activities are back to pre-pandemic trends. WFH - and related activities like office occupancy and public transit use - appear to have permanently changed.
    233K
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Apr 30, 2022
    Nature experimental paper finds in person meetings raises innovation by about 15% Randomized Control Trial paper finds WFH 2 days a week reduces employee quits by 35% Hybrid #WFH can deliver both 3 office days for better innovation 2 home days for better employee retention
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Apr 8, 2022
    New randomized control trial on 3-2 hybrid #WFH vs 5-days in office Finds hybrid WFH 1) Lowers quits by 35% 2) Raises employee satisfaction 3) Has no negative effect on performance or promotions Results so good the firm allowed WFH in all divisions See stanford.io/3je2FVS
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Feb 5, 2023
    #WFH saves 72 minutes a day on average, and 90+ minutes in China, India, Japan and Singapore. This is a win-win: Employers gain 30 minutes (40%) more work a day, boosting productivity. Employees gain 42 minutes for leisure, caregiving and housework. nber.org/papers/w30866
    218K
  • user avatar
    Nick Bloom
    @I_Am_NickBloom
    Aug 11, 2023
    Steve Roth, chairman of real estate giant Vornado said Fridays are "dead forever" for office use. It looks like he was right - Friday has become the day to #wfh. There is now a 3-part week: Monday to Thursday - the office is open and half-full Friday - the office is open and
    304K