Work. Paid family leave. Working at home. Universal sick leave. Subsidized day care. A livable minimum wage. Until about an hour ago, all of the above were considered progressive pipe dreams.
But just as World War II brought millions of women into factories, millions of people may settle into another workplace following the world war on coronavirus — their homes.
Up to half the jobs in the United States could be done, at least partially, from home, by one estimate. Currently, fewer than 4 percent of jobs allow this. The benefits of telecommuting — in terms of personal time, on the environment, on the psyche and on production — could be enormous.
To those who can’t work at home, for one bright and shining moment we all appreciate grocery clerks, truck drivers, nurses, home health care workers and others as heroes. But we’ve never treated them that way with the range of benefits available to those who wear a different collar.
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