Working from home is here to stay, but how does it affect workplace learning?

Swiss Journal of Economics and Statistics

Table 5 Baseline regression results—subsample of apprentice trainers

Dependent variable	Practical knowledge				Theoretical knowledge
Estimation	(1) POLS	(2) FE without other Working Activities	(3) FE no company Controls	(4) FE with company Controls	(5) POLS	(6) FE without other Working Activities	(7) FE no company Controls	(8) FE with company Controls
Working from home	− 0.156**	− 0.0943*	− 0.102**	− 0.0995**	− 0.0255	0.0204	0.00998	0.0117
	(0.0625)	(0.0500)	(0.0506)	(0.0505)	(0.0530)	(0.0429)	(0.0439)	(0.0428)
Observations	3,831	3,831	3,831	3,831	3,817	3,817	3,817	3,817
Within R-squared	0.076	0.043	0.042	0.044	0.048	0.047	0.048	0.050
Number of respondents	1,028	1,028	1,028	1,028	1,027	1,027	1,027	1,027
Respondent FE	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Month FE	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Respondent controls	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes

The table shows WLS coefficients and robust standard errors clustered at the respondent level in parentheses. *** p < 0.01, ** p < 0.05, * p < 0.1. The dependent variables Practical knowledge and Theoretical knowledge capture the impact of COVID19 on practical knowledge and theoretical knowledge of apprentices, respectively. They have a 5-Point Likert scale from substantially worse (− 2) to substantially improved (2). Working from Home indicates whether the company has apprentices who are working from home. Company controls comprise the variables Prevalence Short-Time Work, Sanitary Protocol, Financial Distress, Risk Bankruptcy and Temporary Closure. Other Activities include company-attributed homework and no company-provided training. Details of each variable are elicited in Sect. 4.3. The POLS columns show the overall R-squared rather than the within R-squared