Who still works from home

Working from home (WFH) expanded sharply in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic and remains elevated. While a growing literature examines the impacts of WFH, less is known about the evolving composition of remote workers. Using longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey from 2017 to 2024, this paper comprehensively investigates the socio-demographic, occupational and geographic characteristics associated with WFH uptake before, during and after the pandemic. Descriptive models show that WFH is tightly related to education, wages and occupational teleworkability, with these associations strengthening after 2020. Younger cohorts are persistently less likely to WFH, and women are increasingly more likely than men to work remotely, with couples displaying joint sorting into similar home-working arrangements. Pre-pandemic, WFH was concentrated among longer-tenure and supervisory staff, but access diffused down the organisation hierarchy during lockdowns. Spatial patterns also shifted, with remote work now concentrated among inner-city residents in Australia’s major cities. The findings help inform policy debates on the effects on labour markets and urban structures.