Mapping the Midweek Mountain: The New Geography of Hybrid Work

Norman Guo, Wei Jiang, Yaswanth Pothuru and Baozhong Yang

Papers from arXiv.org

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.

Date: 2026-03
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