Series

Upjohn Institute working paper ; 26-434

DOI

10.17848/wp26-434

Issue Date

July 2026

Abstract

Working from home has remained a prominent part of the labor market after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in January 2025 President Trump issued an executive order restricting the use of work from home (WFH) in the federal government. This paper examines trends in WFH by class of worker: private for-profit, private not-for-profit, federal, state, and local government. It evaluates how WFH evolved across different classes after accounting for differences in occupation and education, with a focus on trends for WFH in the federal government, relative to the for-profit class, before and after the restriction in federal WFH. Overall, “hybrid” WFH—working from home for part of work hours—increased from late 2022 to early 2026. For local government workers, and federal government workers after the executive order, WFH rates are below those of for-profit workers.

Subject Areas

LABOR MARKET ISSUES; Employment relationships

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Citation

Frazis, Harley. 2026. "Work from Home in the Public and Private Sector." Upjohn Institute Working Paper 26-434. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. https://doi.org/10.17848/wp26-434

 

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