Home working in pre-pandemic Brazil: changes in the sector of activity and the profile of workers

Abstract

Remote work reached 11% of Brazil's employed population in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: the majority being women, white individuals with higher education levels, and working in the education and services sectors. This profile is distinct from the predominant pattern of home-based workers: black women with lower education levels and working in the manufacturing industry. However, upon reviewing PNAD data from 1992 to 2019, we found some transformations in home-based economic sectors and occupational activities. Additionally, there has been a shift in the profile of home-based workers: an increase in the participation of men with higher education and income levels, working in the services and communication sectors. In this article, we argue that these pre-pandemic changes in home-based work contribute to understanding the space that remote work has gained during and after the pandemic to strengthen itself as a work modality and justify itself as an alternative for organizing workspaces.