Picture the following scenario: having happily switched to remote work a few years ago, your boss is now tugging you back to the office. “Look, Kevin, it’s for the good of the team,” they say. “The youngsters need your expert guidance, and without stalwarts like you our corporate culture will collapse.” Given that the wisest words you have ever uttered at work relate to unlocking the office printer, you are sceptical. Rather, you reckon that a new study has you rumbled.
The research, by Scott Baker of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-authors, looks into how remote work affected shopping habits. It uses detailed data up to 2023, covering roughly $5,000 of US households’ annual spending, mostly on groceries. It also analyses information on how and when people shopped and tracks changes over the remote work revolution. Gulp.
Your manager does indeed point to the study, which shows that the shift towards remote work brought a rise in weekday grocery shopping. (Apparently, Friday is the new Saturday.) They also remind you of that time you received and unpacked a large delivery of assorted pickles during an online HR presentation, having forgotten to turn off your camera. Whoops.