Or maybe taking in a sneaky scroll during work hours?

或者，在工作時間偷偷地看一卷書？

For many American workers, both could be true at the same time.

對許多美國工人來說，這兩種情況可能同時存在。

Remote work has been a hot topic these last four years because of the massive shifts it's made in both where and how we work.

在過去的四年裡，遠程工作一直是一個熱門話題，因為它給我們的工作地點和方式都帶來了巨大的變化。

But how does it affect our economy?

但它對我們的經濟有何影響？

Whether you regularly clock in from the kitchen table, or you've never had the opportunity to work from home, remote work could be affecting your wages, housing costs, even inflation.

無論你是經常在廚房的桌子上打卡，還是從來沒有機會在家工作，遠程工作都可能影響你的工資、住房成本，甚至通貨膨脹。

So it's time we understand what the rise of remote work means for all of us, and whether it's worth it.

是以，現在是時候讓我們瞭解遠程工作的興起對我們所有人意味著什麼，以及它是否值得。

Zoom may have been founded in 2011, but the rise of remote work started way before that.

Zoom 可能成立於 2011 年，但遠程工作的興起早在這之前就已經開始了。

The percentage of workers who do their jobs primarily from home has been steadily increasing since the 1960s.

自 20 世紀 60 年代以來，主要在家工作的工人比例一直在穩步上升。

As communication technology improved over the 90s and early 2000s, companies like IBM and Best Buy started allowing some employees to telecommute.

隨著 90 年代和 21 世紀初通信技術的進步，IBM 和百思買等公司開始允許部分員工遠程辦公。

But both pilot programs were killed in the aftermath of the 2008 recession.

但這兩個試點項目都在 2008 年經濟衰退後夭折了。

Still, that small percentage of remote workers in the U.S. kept increasing, until 2020 when the onset of the COVID pandemic pushed roughly 35% of workers to home offices overnight.

儘管如此，美國遠程員工的比例仍在不斷增加，直到 2020 年，COVID 大流行的爆發迫使大約 35% 的員工一夜之間回到了家中辦公。

And despite the unusual circumstances, a majority of surveyed employees reported that working from home was a positive change.

儘管情況不同尋常，但大多數接受調查的員工表示，在家工作是一種積極的變化。

For many, it made corporate culture more inclusive.

對許多人來說，它使企業文化更具包容性。

Working parents noted that remote work made it easier to balance childcare responsibilities with their work schedules.

職業父母指出，遠程工作使他們更容易平衡育兒責任和工作時間安排。

In a time of widespread layoffs and furloughs, disabled people of working age saw a 3.5% increase in employment rates because remote work allowed them to manage their health needs in ways that typical office work does not.

在大範圍裁員和休假的情況下，處於工作年齡的殘障人士的就業率增加了 3.5%，因為遠程工作可以讓他們管理自己的健康需求，而一般的辦公室工作則無法做到這一點。

And Black women surveyed by the Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations said that remote work allowed them to process news about racist violence without having to put on a happy face for co-workers, and reduced the number of microaggressions they faced, like co-workers touching their hair.

康奈爾大學工業與勞工關係學院調查的黑人婦女表示，遠程工作使她們能夠處理有關種族主義暴力的新聞，而不必在同事面前裝出一副高興的樣子，並減少了她們所面臨的微冒犯的數量，比如同事摸她們的頭髮。

Remote work didn't level the playing field for everyone, though.

不過，遠程工作並不是每個人都能公平競爭的。

The jobs that went remote in 2020 were largely white-collar, knowledge sector jobs.

2020 年遠程就業的崗位主要是白領、知識部門的工作。

While workers in industries like agriculture or retail still had to show up in person.

而農業或零售業等行業的工人仍需親自到場。

These remote jobs tend to pay higher wages than jobs that can only be done IRL, with 56% of upper-income workers reporting they could work remotely, compared to 24% of lower-income workers.

這些遠程工作的工資往往高於只能在在地從事的工作，56% 的高收入工人表示他們可以遠程工作，而低收入工人的這一比例僅為 24%。

So it's possible that the rise of remote work is contributing to a growing class divide, where only the already privileged can enjoy the benefits of working from home.

是以，遠程工作的興起有可能導致階級鴻溝日益擴大，只有已經享有特權的人才能享受在家工作的好處。

Remote workers also complained of loneliness, expectations of round-the-clock availability, back pain from those non-ergonomic chairs.

遠程工作人員還抱怨孤獨、對全天候服務的期望，以及那些不符合人體工學的椅子造成的背痛。

Still, 58% of white-collar workers say they prefer to work from home at least some of the time.

不過，仍有 58% 的白領表示，他們更願意至少在某些時候在家工作。

Employers saw some benefits, too.

僱主也看到了一些好處。

When hiring for new roles, they expanded their talent pool from locals only to state or even nationwide, giving them more qualified candidates to select from.

在招聘新職位時，他們將人才庫從在地擴展到州內甚至全國範圍，從而有更多合格的候選人可供選擇。

And some studies suggest that remote workers may be more productive, working longer hours on average than in-person employees.

一些研究表明，遠程員工的工作效率可能更高，平均工作時間比親臨現場的員工更長。

But we can't just look at whether remote work is good for companies or good for workers.

但我們不能只看遠程工作對公司有利還是對工人有利。

Let's look at the big picture of how the shift has affected the economy as a whole.

讓我們從大處著眼，看看這種轉變對整個經濟產生了怎樣的影響。

Take the real estate market.

就拿房地產市場來說吧。

Through the 2010s, interest rates were at historic lows, and companies with cheap access to cash expanded their corporate footprints.

在整個 2010 年代，利率一直處於歷史低位，可以廉價獲得現金的公司擴大了企業規模。

But as those employees traded startup offices full of nap pods for working from their actual bedrooms, their bosses saw less need for all that extra space.

但是，當這些員工把裝滿小睡艙的創業公司辦公室換成在自己的臥室裡辦公時，他們的老闆就不再需要那麼多額外的空間了。

In cities like New York and Washington, D.C., 20 to 30% of commercial real estate currently sits vacant.

在紐約和華盛頓等城市，目前有 20% 至 30% 的商業地產處於空置狀態。

Building regulations make it difficult to convert this space for residential use, so commercial real estate investors unable to find new tenants have little choice but to eat their losses.

由於建築法規的限制，很難將這些空間改建成住宅，是以無法找到新租戶的商業地產投資者只能自認倒黴。

And as fewer workers commute to office spaces, the surrounding businesses struggle too.

而隨著通勤到辦公場所的工人越來越少，周圍的企業也在苦苦掙扎。

Pharmacies, dry cleaners, and the fast, casual spot where you bought your sad desk salad are feeling the effects of lower foot traffic.

藥店、乾洗店以及你買沙拉的快餐店都感受到了人流量減少的影響。

And it's also hitting us at home.

這也影響到了我們的家庭。

As remote workers seek out living arrangements with more space for a home office or fewer roommates to walk through the background of their Zoom calls, demand for housing has increased.

隨著遠程辦公人員尋求有更大空間的家庭辦公室或更少室友在其 Zoom 通話背景中穿行的居住安排，對住房的需求也隨之增加。

Researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco claim telecommuting contributed to a 24% increase in U.S. housing prices between 2019 and 2022.

舊金山聯邦儲備銀行的研究人員稱，電子通勤促使美國房價在 2019 年至 2022 年間上漲了 24%。

It's not all bad news, though.

不過，也不全是壞消息。

One upside is that remote work cut the average telecommuter's carbon emissions by half as they skipped gas-guzzling commutes and kept resource-intensive office buildings closed.

遠程工作的一個好處是，遠程辦公人員平均減少了一半的碳排放量，因為他們省去了耗費汽油的通勤，並使資源密集型辦公樓保持關閉狀態。

With damage from extreme climate events already costing the U.S. $150 billion a year, reducing emissions is a smart move for both the environment and the economy.

極端氣候事件造成的損失已經使美國每年損失 1500 億美元，是以減少排放對環境和經濟來說都是明智之舉。

There's also evidence that while remote work threw real estate markets for a hoot, it may have had a moderating effect on inflation.

還有證據表明，雖然遠程工作讓房地產市場一片歡騰，但它可能對通貨膨脹產生了緩和作用。

Usually in times of high inflation, workers seek higher pay in order to keep up with increasing prices.

通常在高通脹時期，工人會尋求更高的薪酬，以跟上不斷上漲的物價。

Then, to make up for their increased labor costs, businesses raise prices even higher.

然後，為了彌補增加的勞動力成本，企業將價格提得更高。

But as a 2021 survey reported, 75% of workers said they would choose remote work over a pay increase.

但據 2021 年的一項調查報告顯示，75% 的工人表示，他們會選擇遠程工作而不是加薪。

And it's likely that over the past three years, they did just that.

而在過去的三年裡，他們很可能就是這樣做的。

This tradeoff may have held off subsequent price inflation by as much as 50%.

這種權衡可能使隨後的物價上漲率降低了 50%。

It also means that wage growth was slower, which leads us to another workplace trend that remote work has made a little weirder.

這也意味著工資增長放緩，這讓我們想到了另一個工作場所的趨勢，遠程工作讓這個趨勢變得有點奇怪。

Researchers, and maybe your bosses, have debated whether a lack of spontaneous face-to-face collaboration affects our ability to work together.

研究人員，也許還有你的老闆，一直在爭論缺乏自發的面對面合作是否會影響我們的合作能力。

Maybe that doesn't really matter when it comes to making PowerPoint presentations, but collaboration is important in labor unions.

也許在製作 PowerPoint 演示文稿時，這並不重要，但在工會中，協作卻很重要。

Since 2020, we've seen a wave of labor organizing activity, from Starbucks baristas and Amazon warehouse workers forming new unions, to UPS delivery drivers and Hollywood actors striking for better working conditions and fairer wages.

自 2020 年以來，我們看到了勞工組織活動的浪潮，從星巴克咖啡師和亞馬遜倉庫工人組建新工會，到 UPS 送貨司機和好萊塢演員為爭取更好的工作條件和更公平的工資而罷工。

In 2022, the number of union petitions filed increased by more than 50% from the previous years.

2022 年，工會申請的數量比前幾年增加了 50%以上。

And there's a lot of overlap between industries with high union membership and those where workers can't go remote.

工會會員人數較多的行業與工人不能去偏遠地區的行業之間有很多重疊。

Maybe there's something to that idea that in-person work fosters a special kind of collaboration.

也許這種想法是有道理的，即面對面的工作能促進一種特殊的合作。

We can't claim that remote work is all good or bad for the economy.

我們不能斷言遠程工作對經濟有利或有害。

Just like telecommunity's impact on our personal lives, it's a bit of a mixed bag.

正如電信社區對我們個人生活的影響一樣，它也是喜憂參半。

It seems that many companies recognize this too, with 41% of them implementing hybrid work schedules.

許多公司似乎也認識到了這一點，其中 41% 的公司實施了混合工作時間安排。

Still, in the current tight labor market, workers may have enough of an upper hand to press for more flexibility.

不過，在當前勞動力市場緊張的情況下，工人們可能有足夠的優勢來要求更多的靈活性。

Though, if they want to bring their co-workers in on that cause, they might have to come into the office.

不過，如果他們想讓同事們也參與進來，可能就得進辦公室了。

And that's our two cents.

這就是我們的看法。