Hybrid work models continue to grow, study finds

The post-COVID work from home-hybrid work model continues to be more a part of American work life. According to the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), the share of U.S. jobs worked on-site dropped roughly 10 percentage points from 84% in 2019 to 74% in 2021, the first full year of the pandemic.

The share of jobs done exclusively from home (fully home-based jobs) roughly doubled from 11% of all jobs in 2019 to 23% in 2020, before declining to about 21% in 2021.

Jobs worked some days on-site and other days from home — referred to as mixed or hybrid work — represented the smallest share of all jobs worked each year, but increased from around 4% in 2020 to 6% in 2021.

The category of essential worker was created by the Department of Homeland Security to characterize workers employed in occupations considered vital to the continued operation of the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to DHS methodology, around 7 in 10 jobs overall were deemed essential in each survey year.

A significantly larger percentage of on-site jobs (compared to mixed and fully home-based jobs) were considered essential in 2019 through 2021. By 2021 roughly 75% of on-site jobs were classified as essential, compared to about 60% of hybrid and 61% of fully home-based jobs.

Workers with mixed schedules were more likely to work from home at the start or end of the work-week. For this set of workers, the most common days to work from home in 2021 were Fridays (53%) and Mondays (50%).

Related: Hybrid work leads to mid-week crowding and need to retain space

The share of mixed jobs with a standard, predictable schedule increased from 81% in 2019 to 84% in 2021. And among jobs that allowed working fully from home, the share that offered a standard, predictable schedule went from 66% in 2019 to about 77% in 2021. The percentage of on-site jobs offering a standard, predictable work schedule decreased from 73% in 2019 to 71% in 2021.