Teleworking Americans tend to greatly overestimate how many people are doing the same
If you've been working from home throughout the coronavirus pandemic, there's a good chance you've overestimated how many of your fellow Americans have been doing the same, The Atlantic reports.
The Atlantic recently commissioned a poll from Leger asking Americans to guess how many people have teleworked over the past year-and-a-half. Of those who had been at home, 73 percent guessed the number was at least 50 percent. In reality, though, the highest point of remote work was at just 35 percent — and that was all the way back in May 2020.
Flash forward to August 2021, and 90 percent of people still teleworking believed 40 percent of Americans were in the same boat. But it turns out the actual number was 13.4 percent, meaning the vast majority of working Americans are back on the job in person.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Atlantic notes that the misconception stems from the fact people tend to think their personal experiences are more common than they are, though it also suggests that oversaturated reporting on the long-term possibility of remote work obscured the fact that many sectors of the economy, including healthcare and the service industry, do not allow for it. Read more at The Atlantic.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle
Speed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?
Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraud
Speed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strike
Speed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US economy still strong in final preelection report
Speed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strike
Speed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published