Welcome to Latinometrics. We bring you Latin American insights and trends through concise, thought-provoking data visualizations.
Remote Work 👨💻
If you ask any friend about their preferred work setup, the most likely answer is that they favor a "hybrid" format. This means they don't want to spend 40 working hours a week at the office, but neither do they want to spend them all at home. Is it surprising that we still want to interact with each other in person? At the very least, it’s encouraging.
In 2019, the idea of spending a significant amount of work time at home was hard to grasp for most in the corporate world. Today, surprisingly, Latin America is at the forefront of embracing this concept.
81% of companies report having either a hybrid or fully remote model for their workers, well above the US and Canada, where 65% of companies have adopted such models.
The hybrid model has been particularly embraced by Latin American companies, 71% of them, to be precise. In North America, only 41% of offices have done so.
At the country level, numbers can contrast quite sharply across the region, likely due to differences in how service-oriented their economies are.
For instance, Mexico, a manufacturing megahub, still has 31% of all companies operating in a "fully presential" mode, meaning all employees show up to the office every workday.
By contrast, Brazil, where more than half of the companies (surveyed by real estate firm, JLL) work 3-4 days a week from the office, has only one in ten companies reporting a fully presential model.
This dichotomy makes sense—Brazil has a robust service economy, particularly in the Financial and Technology sectors. While an average Mexican cannot manufacture cars from home, an average Brazilian can comfortably meet with clients and give financial advice from home.
What about an average Chilean? It's a mixed bag. The country is home to the largest share of fully remote companies, with 26%. And yet it still has 21% of companies demanding a full presence at the office. Chile's strong mining sector, the largest producer of copper, is also one that is hard to execute from the comforts of home.
No matter what your work setup is, the shift towards more flexible arrangements reflects our collective craving for balance—blending productivity with the personal touch that only face-to-face interactions can provide. If you get to work from home, see it for what it is: a privilege; but so is having a strong in-person community.
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Comment of the Week 🗣️
Eliecer Guerra speaking proudly of his home country, Panama, says it’s “more than just a Canal.” From our chart about the country’s historical economic development catch up on LinkedIn.
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Muy interesante información! Gracias Latinometrics!