Remote work

Which Countries Were (And Weren’t) Ready for Remote Work?

Researchers examined the digital infrastructure in 42 countries.

by

Bhaskar Chakravorti

and

Ravi Shankar Chaturvedi

by

Bhaskar Chakravorti

and

Ravi Shankar Chaturvedi

April 29, 2020, Updated April 29, 2020

MirageC/Getty Images

Summary.

The lockdowns that followed the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has tested digital infrastructure across the globe. In this article, the authors looked to three indices to determine how ready 42 countries were for socially distanced work: robustness of key platforms, such as e-commerce and digital media; proliferation and resilience of digital payments options; and resilience of the internet infrastructure to traffic surges.

As the world races to contain the spread of Covid-19, socially distant modes of working have become the norm. What that looks like, however, varies wildly. Countries have taken vastly different measures to stop the spread of the virus. Some, such as India, mandated complete lockdowns. Others, such as Singapore, have been more measured in turning off face-to-face working and only declared a lockdown recently. And some, such as Brazil, have even dismissed the need to do so. Many countries, such as Germany, Denmark, New Zealand, among others, are planning a cautious re-opening and in the United States, President Trump has given each state the license to set its own easing calendar.

Bhaskar Chakravorti is the Dean of Global Business at The Fletcher School at Tufts University and founding Executive Director of Fletcher’s Institute for Business in the Global Context. He is the author of The Slow Pace of Fast Change.
Ravi Shankar Chaturvedi is the Director of Research, Doctoral Research Fellow for Innovation and Change, and a Lecturer in International Business at Fletcher’s Institute for Business in the Global Context at Tufts University.

Which Countries Were (And Weren’t) Ready for Remote Work?

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