Who can log in? The importance of skills for the feasibility of teleworking arrangements
across OECD countries
COVID-19 lockdowns have radically changed the working arrangements for millions of
workers. But who are the workers best positioned to work from home? Drawing on data
from the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), we show that workers possessing higher
levels of skills are significantly more likely to telework in OECD countries. We show
that while 30% of workers could telework across the OECD, the likelihood decreases
for workers without tertiary education and with lower levels of numeracy and literacy
skills. The findings raise important questions with respect to the extent to which
the pandemic could exacerbate existing labour market inequalities, and the extent
to which these inequalities could further worsen amidst intensified technology adoption
in the pandemic’s aftermath.
Published on June 25, 2020
In series:OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papersview more titles