The Coming Shock That Will Transform the U.S. Economy
The rise in telecommuting will redefine jobs, remake industries and revolutionize labor markets.
Adapting to the teleshock, thankyouverymuch.
Photographer: Ethan Miller/Getty Images North AmericaThe “China shock” was one of the most significant economic events of the last two decades in America. Most of the shock is now over — Chinese imports are competitive with much of the output of U.S. manufacturing, and China has already displaced many U.S. jobs — but there is a new and possibly larger shock on the horizon. Call it “the teleshock.”
The teleshock, or the rise in telecommuting, received a major impetus from the pandemic, when so many Americans were forced to work from home. As it turns out, many prefer this new arrangement. In any case, a fair amount of “work from a distance” is likely to persist, most of all in the technology industry, where the fundamental products are digital. Microsoft, for example, has announced that work from a distance will continue indefinitely.