Who Could Work Remotely During the COVID-19 Pandemic? Perspectives from Hungary and Slovakia

Remote work has gained momentum after the COVID-19 pandemic but has been limited in Eastern Europe, which may affect the existing labor market inequalities. This study employed advanced clustering methods to analyze the remote work experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hungary and Slovakia. The ability to work from home was strongly correlated with respondents' socioeconomic status and played a crucial role in cluster formation. Remote work was predominantly available to high-income urban workers with better education, primarily in intellectual occupations. Conversely, those with lower education and physical occupations faced a lack of remote work options and lower wages. These patterns imply that remote work options were accessible to employees already in more favorable labor market positions. Based on these results, it is recommended that employers evaluate the potential for remote work to optimize work processes. However, since remote working is not feasible for every position, offering alternative forms of compensation to employees is advised. Furthermore, additional research is needed to evaluate the impact of widespread remote work adoption on the urban-rural divide.