We use the data from a Banque de France survey, carried out among French companies about their use of telework in 2019 and during the first lockdown in the spring of 2020. Combining this with detailed information regarding their balance sheets and profit and loss accounts, we show that those that made more use of telework in 2019 were more productive on average and better withstood the crisis overall. They are also larger and relatively less capital-intensive, although they have relatively high fixed assets in the form of IT equipment and intangible assets when compared with other companies. The estimations show that a significant global increase in the use of telework in the long term could increase productivity by around 10%. The results also reveal the non-linear effects of telework on productivity. Companies that were already practising telework in 2019 were more likely than others to want to increase this in the future and those that were looking to do so were more likely to be planning an increase in their IT investment, as well as a change of premises.

Citation: Bergeaud, A., Cette, G. & Drapala, S. (2023). Telework and Productivity Before, During and After the COVID-19 Crisis. Economie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics, 539, 73–89 (First published online: January 2023). doi: 10.24187/ecostat.2023.539.2098