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Mapping the Midweek Mountain: The New Geography of Hybrid Work

Norman Guo, Wei Jiang, Yaswanth Pothuru, Baozhong Yang

Abstract

This paper provides a behavioral analysis of the post-pandemic transformation of work, using a dataset of approximately 41 billion mobile geolocation records from 73.5 million individuals in the five largest U.S. metropolitan areas from the pre- to post- pandemic periods. By tracking movements between corporate headquarters, residences, and other points of interest, we document a structural shift in work patterns. Office based workdays declined from 42% in 2019 to 20.7% in 2022, before settling at 29.1% in 2023, a new equilibrium significantly below pre-pandemic levels. A "midweek mountain" peak of office attendance on Tuesdays through Thursdays, emerged as a robust new phenomenon post-pandemic. The nature of remote work has also changed: both in and after the pandemic, employees working from home allocated significantly more time to non-work locations like parks and malls during the workday. These findings indicate that the pandemic catalyzed a lasting transformation not just in work arrangements but also in the integration of personal and professional life, with implications for corporate policy, urban economics, and the future of work.

Mapping the Midweek Mountain: The New Geography of Hybrid Work

Abstract

This paper provides a behavioral analysis of the post-pandemic transformation of work, using a dataset of approximately 41 billion mobile geolocation records from 73.5 million individuals in the five largest U.S. metropolitan areas from the pre- to post- pandemic periods. By tracking movements between corporate headquarters, residences, and other points of interest, we document a structural shift in work patterns. Office based workdays declined from 42% in 2019 to 20.7% in 2022, before settling at 29.1% in 2023, a new equilibrium significantly below pre-pandemic levels. A "midweek mountain" peak of office attendance on Tuesdays through Thursdays, emerged as a robust new phenomenon post-pandemic. The nature of remote work has also changed: both in and after the pandemic, employees working from home allocated significantly more time to non-work locations like parks and malls during the workday. These findings indicate that the pandemic catalyzed a lasting transformation not just in work arrangements but also in the integration of personal and professional life, with implications for corporate policy, urban economics, and the future of work.
Paper Structure (8 sections, 16 figures, 1 table)

This paper contains 8 sections, 16 figures, 1 table.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Data Description and Processing
  3. Main Findings
  4. Workday allocation at office and home
  5. A new "midweek mountain"
  6. Where do people spent their time during workday?
  7. Conclusion
  8. Time Allocation Patterns Across Different MSAs

Figures (16)

  • Figure 1: Shifts in Work Location Preferences: Proportion of Workdays Spent in the Office vs. at Home in 2019, 2022, and 2023
  • Figure 2: Sectoral Shifts in Workplace Attendance: Office vs. Home‑Based Work Patterns Before and After the Pandemic
  • Figure 3: Weekday Work‑from‑Office Proportions in 2019, 2022, and 2023
  • Figure 4: Daily Time Allocation at Key Points of Interest On Work‑from‑Home vs. Work‑from‑Office Days vs. All Working Days, 2019–2023
  • Figure 5: Weekday Dynamics of Time Allocation across Location Categories from 2019 to 2023
  • ...and 11 more figures