Mapping the Midweek Mountain: The New Geography of Hybrid Work

TL;DR

This study analyzes the post-pandemic shift in work patterns in major U.S. cities using mobile geolocation data, revealing a lasting change in office attendance, remote work behavior, and weekly work distribution.

Contribution

It provides the first large-scale behavioral analysis of post-pandemic work transformations using extensive geolocation data across major U.S. metros.

Findings

Office workdays declined from 42% to 20.7% post-pandemic

A new 'midweek mountain' of office attendance emerged

Remote workers spend more time at non-work locations during work hours

Abstract

This paper provides a behavioral analysis of the post-pandemic transformation of work, using a dataset of approximately 41 billion mobile geolocation records from 73.5 million individuals in the five largest U.S. metropolitan areas from the pre- to post- pandemic periods. By tracking movements between corporate headquarters, residences, and other points of interest, we document a structural shift in work patterns. Office based workdays declined from 42% in 2019 to 20.7% in 2022, before settling at 29.1% in 2023, a new equilibrium significantly below pre-pandemic levels. A "midweek mountain" peak of office attendance on Tuesdays through Thursdays, emerged as a robust new phenomenon post-pandemic. The nature of remote work has also changed: both in and after the pandemic, employees working from home allocated significantly more time to non-work locations like parks and malls during the workday. These findings indicate that the pandemic catalyzed a lasting transformation not just in work arrangements but also in the integration of personal and professional life, with implications for corporate policy, urban economics, and the future of work.