Civil Engineering October 2021 | Vol 29 No 9

10 October 2021 Civil Engineering Rural , urban and mun i ci pal eng i neer i ng I magine if remote work for, say, 20% to 30% of our entire working population was a possibility. That would have a profound impact on our urban economies, transportation and consumer spending, among other things. In emerging econo- mies like South Africa, employment is skewed toward occupations that require physical and manual activities in sectors like agriculture, mining, construction and manufacturing. Some jobs require col- laborating with others or using specialised machinery; other jobs, such as conducting CT scans, must be done on location; and some, such as making deliveries, are performed while out and about. Therefore, the question is to what extent working from home has taken root in South Africa. Has it been as widespread as initially thought, and what could be the possible implications for transport and land-use planning and/or urban form? WHO IS WORKING FROM HOME? The ability to work from home depends on the mix of activities undertaken in each occupation and on their physical, spatial and interpersonal context. Many physical or manual activities, as well as those that require use of fixed equipment, Working from home, are we? Some implications for transport and urban form Dr Werner Heyns Pr Pln Strategic Planning & Advisory Lead AECOM South Africa werner.heyns@aecom.com Carl Erasmus Pr Pln Senior Town Planner AECOM South Africa Justice Chauke Traffic Engineer SANRAL For many of us, Covid-19’s social, physiological, emotional and economic impacts have been hard to come to terms with. Much of this was influenced by Covid-19’s impact on the economy and whether we could work from home or were able to continue working from our normal workplace given lockdown regulations. Lockdowns, quarantines and self-imposed isolation have pushed tens of millions of people around the world to work from home, accelerating a workplace experiment that professional planners have dreamt about for decades. Figure 1 Employment by occupation, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021 Domestic worker Elementary Plant and machine operator Craft and related trade Skilled agriculture Sales and services Clerk Technician Professional Manager Q1, 2021 Q4, 2020 Q3, 2022 Q2, 2021 Q1, 2020 Employment (%) 25 20 15 10 5 0 5.67% 5.98% 5.89% 6.08% 6.13% 22.19% 22.62% 23.06% 22.46% 23.24% 8.59% 8.38% 8.29% 8.57% 8.46% 10.90% 11.13% 10.73 10.71% 11.84% 0.41% 0.57% 0.42% 0.47% 0.42% 16.61% 16.50% 16.35% 16.21% 16.81% 10.67% 10.53% 10.40% 10.35% 10.22% 9.36% 9.01% 8.98% 8.54% 8.28% 6.62% 6.35% 6.94% 7.55% 5.79% 8.98% 8.95% 8.95% 9.07% 8.82%