IIM B UG (B.Sc-Hons.)- Sample Paper 2026 · English Comprehension · Question 4

RC passage 1: Work From Home After the Pandemic — this question belongs to a set. Read the full set with all 4 questions →

Read the passage below and answer the questions that follow. Choose the best answer to each question.

A lasting shift to work from home (WFH) is one key legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. The share of workdays worked at home in the US increased slowly in the decades before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 7 percent in 2019. When the economy locked down in 2020 it surged to almost 60 percent before dropping back down and stabilizing at around 28 percent in the US according to a survey. The pattern is similar in other countries. In Germany for example, roughly 5 percent of employees worked from home at least partially pre-pandemic. That share jumped to 34 percent in the early phases of the pandemic, fluctuated during the pandemic period, and has been almost flat at around 24-25 percent since early 2022. Online job vacancy postings, office occupancy statistics and evidence from national surveys point in the same direction of a new normal with stable WFH rates. Yet, the number of full paid days worked at home during COVID-19 differs widely across countries. The highest levels are in English-speaking countries and the lowest in developed Asia. Cross-country differences in WFH levels persist post-pandemic. In a sample of 34 countries, WFH levels are highest at an average of 1.4 days per week in English-speaking countries, followed by Latin American countries and South Africa (0.9 days), and then European countries (0.8 days) and Asian countries (0.7 days). Why does work from home vary so much across countries? There are several possible reasons. WFH intensity differs greatly across industries and occupations because some tasks and therefore some jobs cannot be done at home, so differences in the industry or occupation mix could lead to different amounts of WFH across countries. Additionally, differences in workplace cultures, managerial styles, and perceptions of the productivity of remote work could lead some organizations to adopt work-from-home arrangements but not others. Urban areas with higher population density also have high WFH rates, but much of that is because cities are more likely to host knowledge jobs and industries that are well-suited to remote work. The pandemic experience, especially cumulative lockdown stringency that pushed workers and firms to adapt more fully to remote work, also predicts persistent WFH.