A new study says about half of the people employed before the pandemic are now working from home. That’s from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
But not everyone’s job is able to transition to remote working. Amy Carter is the Indiana Institute for Working Families community outreach and engagement coordinator.
She said the pandemic has highlighted disparities in the workforce, and more protections are needed for people who still have to go into work. Many of these jobs are lower income or part-time, such as service industry, retail, or home health aides.
“I do want us to think about what the future looks like for people that don’t have that option, especially as we’re not providing the protections for workers, especially with the pandemic, that we should,” she said.
Carter said some examples of the help needed are paid sick leave for part-time workers, a higher minimum wage, and accessible childcare.
She added that this would alleviate some stress, so that hourly employees wouldn’t feel a need to come to work even when they or a family member is sick.
"People are making this horrible choice between caring for a kid, caring for someone who's sick, or being sick themselves– or going into work because they need the paycheck," she said.
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