The World Cup is giving some office workers an unexpected perk: permission to stay home.
Employers in host cities are encouraging staff to work remotely on match days to avoid expected traffic headaches and delays, pausing corporate America’s yearslong push to get people back into the office.
Wall Street bankers, publicists, government workers and school teachers are among the employees logging in from home across the continent. Even Jamie Dimon, one of the harshest and most vocal remote work critics, is giving JPMorgan Chase & Co. employees some flexibility on game days, the Financial Times reported. Federal agencies are offering leniency, too. Cities including New York, Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto and Mexico City have warned of severe gridlock as tens of thousands of fans crowd roadways and public transportation to attend matches.
No matter how much certain CEOs want remote work to die, it just won't. US workers are spending more than a quarter of paid workdays at home, according to a monthly survey by economists at ITAM Business School and Stanford University. The pandemic may not have ushered in a work from home revolution, but it set up workers and workplaces to better allow for it, as needed.
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“Avoiding Word Cup traffic is a perfect use case of remote work,” said Emma Harrington, an economist at the University of Virginia who studies remote work. “Sitting in gridlock isn't a good use of anyone's time.”
