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.
-
Does Nepal have too many tigers?
Under the Radar Wild tiger numbers have tripled in a decade but conservation success comes with rise in human fatalities
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Today's political cartoons - January 19, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - moving to Canada, billionaire bootlickers, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 inflammatory cartoons on the L.A. wildfires
Cartoons Artists take on climate change denial, the blame game, and more
By The Week US Published
-
US port strike averted with tentative labor deal
Speed Read The strike could have shut down major ports from Texas to Maine
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden expected to block Japanese bid for US Steel
Speed Read The president is blocking the $14 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel by Japan's Nippon Steel, citing national security concerns
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
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