Hannah Hook (p), Rune Borremans, Frank Witlox

Elena Kotyrlo

The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for teleworking, but less is known about this trend beyond the pandemic and its implications for the built environment, travel behavior, and social equity. Using three rounds of survey data (n=474) in Flanders, Belgium at the onset of the pandemic (April-May 2020), one year into the pandemic (April-May 2021), and after a return to normal (October-November 2022), this research investigates teleworking profiles in terms of residential population densities, necessary trip behavior and satisfaction, and sociodemographic characteristics. Four profiles are evaluated based on not teleworking, teleworking because of the pandemic and continuing afterward, teleworking during the pandemic but returning to work physically, and teleworking before, during, and after. Results indicate a negative relationship between teleworking and residential population density, therefore teleworking options might contribute to equitable access to employment. Further, accommodating teleworkers in urban areas might be less critical but instead commuters might benefit from mobility systems supporting trip-chaining without a car. Women were more likely to return to work physically (especially those with children), indicating challenges in work-life balance that might benefit from structure and separation that comes with commuting. Finally, experienced teleworkers were older, employed full time, with higher salaries, indicating that skill and job competence might relate to flexible contracts including teleworking alongside employer trust. Increases in and normalization of teleworking following the COVID-19 pandemic are related to work-life balance, equity, the urban form, and travel patterns, and understanding these relationships can aid in predicting teleworking trends and informing supportive policy.

Jente Versigghel (p), Jonas De Vos, Frank Witlox

Hannah Hook

This study investigates the relationship between teleworking frequency and commuting patterns in East Flanders, Belgium. The widespread adoption of teleworking during the pandemic prompted a shift in the work landscape in many regions. The province of East Flanders, the study area, experienced a large increase in teleworking since 2019, making it, in 2021, one of the top ten European regions in terms of teleworking adoption. Teleworking has the potential to reduce travel, as teleworkers perform fewer commute trips. However, recent studies often reveal nuanced findings, including rebound effects such as increased non-work trips, longer commute trips, or residential relocation counterbalancing the substitution effect of teleworking. Also, the association between teleworking frequency and modal choice and travel satisfaction is less straightforward and understudied in the literature.

In this study, we focus on two main sets of research questions. We first aim to describe the teleworking landscape in East Flanders. We examine teleworking frequency, the distribution of teleworking throughout the week, and the duration of the teleworking sessions. Second, we are interested in the commuting patterns (commute distance, commute duration, number of commute trips, commute mode, and commute satisfaction) of three different groups of teleworkers: non-teleworkers, non-regular teleworkers, and regular teleworkers, by using one-way ANOVA and the Chi-square test of independence. We use data from an online survey on teleworking, travel, and well-being that ran between October 2023 and December 2024, targeting people working in the province of East Flanders. With this research, we aim to gain more insights into the teleworking landscape of East Flanders while also contributing to the literature on the commuting behaviour of different teleworking groups.

Eduarda Marques da Costa, Ana Louro, Pedro Franco, Paulo Morgado (p), Nuno Marques da Costa

Jente Versigghel

The emergence and proliferation of teleworking, accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic, have profoundly reshaped the landscape of work arrangements. This paper investigates the impacts of teleworking on the spatial dynamics of companies, particularly regarding their post-COVID location preferences. Despite the acceleration of teleworking trends during the pandemic, its long-term effects on the locations of companies remain underexplored. Through semi-structured interviews conducted with a diverse range of companies, but also business and sectorial associations, this study examines the adoption of teleworking practices and its implications for office space utilization and location. Findings reveal a significant shift towards teleworking, especially among younger employees who increasingly prioritize flexible work arrangements. Companies have adapted to this trend by adopting hybrid teleworking models, although resistance to full remote work perseveres due to concerns about the creation of a company culture and time spirit. While teleworking has led to a reduction in office space requirements, relocation decisions appear to be influenced by factors unrelated to teleworking. However, the trend towards smaller and more flexible office spaces emphasizes the cost-saving potential of teleworking strategies. Overall, teleworking is poised to remain a fixture of post-pandemic work environments, influencing talent recruitment and office space management. Thought its impact on office relocation may be limited, teleworking is reshaping the spatial dynamics of companies and challenging traditional notions of workplace organization and location. This study emerges from the REMOBIL project and tries to contribute to a better understanding of the evolving relationship between teleworking practices and company spatial strategies in the post-COVID era.

Elena Kotyrlo (p)

Pedro Franco

• Purpose. This study investigates the effect of teleworkability on labour outcomes across local labour markets, education, marital and parental statuses during COVID-19 in Russia.
• Design/methodology/approach. Based on the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS-HSE), three classifications of telework are tested. Telework is associated with 1) work from home, 2) workplace digitalisation and 3) the suitability of professional occupations for telework. The methodology includes a difference-in-differences approach combined with propensity score matching, inverse probability weighted regression adjustment and dose-response function with the generalised propensity score.
• Findings. We find a positive effect of teleworkability on working hours for men and employment status for women, especially women with higher education. The effect of teleworkability was more salient in large labour markets, where it manifested in an increase in working hours for both genders. The results indicate that parental status did not remarkably affect the magnitude of the effect of teleworkability for women. However, for fathers, teleworkability was associated with an increase in working hours.
• Originality. This is the first thorough analysis of the effect of telework on labour outcomes for the Russian economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Research limitations/implications. Limited data did not enable an exploration of the effect of teleworkability across industries and professional occupations. We take the use of the Internet for work in 2019 and the suitability of occupation for telework as a measure of teleworkability.