Average 72 Minutes Saved on Commute Due to Remote Work... 40% of Time Used for Work

National Bureau of Economic Research Study... South Korea Saves 86 Minutes
"A Significant Portion of Time Saved Working from Home Goes Back to Employers"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Junran] Workers in 27 countries around the world have gained more than one hour of free time per day thanks to telecommuting. However, about half of this free time is reinvested in work, while relatively little time is spent on leisure or childcare. In the case of Korea, the time saved through telecommuting was longer than the average of the 27 countries. However, the proportion allocated to caregiving was the lowest.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)'s report on "Time Savings from Telecommuting" released on the 31st, a survey of 27 countries including Korea and the Group of Seven (G7) found that workers saved an average of 72 minutes per day by not commuting due to telecommuting.

The office seats are empty due to remote work.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The largest proportion of the saved time, 40% (about 29 minutes), was allocated to primary and secondary work. The proportion used for leisure activities such as reading or exercising was 34% (24 minutes), and 11% (8 minutes) was spent on caregiving, including childcare.

In other words, the largest portion of the free time gained from not commuting is used to work more. The report pointed out that "a significant portion of the time saved through telecommuting goes back to employers."

The countries with the highest proportion of free time spent on work due to telecommuting were Singapore, Taiwan, and Malaysia. All three countries allocated 53% of their free time to work. This was followed by India at 47%, China and Russia at 46%, Egypt and France at 44%, Australia at 43%, the United States at 42%, and Canada at 41%.

Korean workers were found to save an average of 86 minutes per day through telecommuting. Korea ranked fifth in terms of free time, following China (102 minutes), Japan (100 minutes), India (99 minutes), and Singapore (94 minutes). Countries with shorter free time included Serbia (51 minutes), Poland (54 minutes), the United States (55 minutes), Greece (58 minutes), and Sweden (60 minutes).

In Korea, the proportion of free time gained from telecommuting allocated to work was 40%, the same as the average of the surveyed countries. Koreans used 39% of their free time for leisure, higher than the average of 34%. However, only 6% of the free time was allocated to caregiving. This was the lowest among the 27 surveyed countries, tied with Singapore (6%).

Meanwhile, the report forecasted that the time saved through telecommuting would significantly decrease to about half once the COVID-19 pandemic is completely over.