Misc
How People and Companies Feel About Working Remotely
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly one-third of the U.S. workforce, and half of all “information workers”, are able to work from home. Though the number of people working partially or fully remote has been on the rise for years now, the COVID-19 pandemic may have pressed the fast-forward button on this trend.
With millions of people taking part in this work-from-home experiment, it’s worth asking the question – how do people and companies actually feel about working from home?
The Flex Life
It’s no secret that people value freedom of choice. A whopping 98% of people would like to have the option to work remotely for the rest of their careers.
Aside from working in sweatpants, what are the things people like about working from home?
A flexible schedule, the ability to work from any location, and no more commuting were the top reported benefits.
Of course, not everything is positive about working from home. Here are some of the challenges people face as they work remotely.
The top issue faced by remote workers was “unplugging” from work. Without the clear-cut change of location and defined office hours, many people had a tougher time clearly dividing their personal and professional time.
As well, the lack of person-to-person communication can be a challenge for some people. In fact, one-third of people were concerned that the full extent of their professional efforts wouldn’t be appreciated because of a lack of in-office contact.
For the majority of people, having tough conversations via phone or teleconferencing software was actually viewed as a positive development.
Barriers to Implementing a Remote Work Policy
Despite the popularity of remote and flexible working, not every company has embraced the concept. Here are some of the reasons why.
While there can be technical or security-related reasons behind remote work resistance, a major barrier is simple resistance to change. Over 50% of companies that didn’t have a flexible or remote workplace policy cited “longstanding company policy” as the reason. In other words, that is just the way things have always worked.
Here are the reservations managers have with remote work:
Managers are worried that productivity and focus will be diminished if people are working in more informal locations, such as home or a cafe. Also, if people aren’t working in the same physical location, managers feel that team cohesiveness and company culture could suffer.
On the flip side, the cost savings associated with remote work may win over many companies. Research has found that typical employer can save about $11,000 per year for every person who works remotely half of the time. As well, switching to virtual meets in some instances can also be a significant cost savings.
Flexibility: The Ultimate Perk?
Location flexibility isn’t just a way to keep current employees happy. Companies that don’t embrace flexible working may find themselves at a disadvantage when recruiting new talent. Nearly two-thirds of candidates say that having a choice of work location is a key consideration in choosing an employer.
Lockdown measures have highlighted the value of workplace flexibility – particularly for people with kids. A total of 86% of parents now want to work flexibly, compared to 46% pre-coronavirus.
As the economy slowly begins to reopen, it remains to be seen whether or not COVID-19 accelerated inevitable trends in workplace culture. If so, taking Zoom calls in sweatpants may become the new normal for millions of workers.
Automotive
The Most Fuel Efficient Cars From 1975 to Today
This infographic lists the most fuel efficient cars over the past 46 years, including the current leader for 2023.

The Most Fuel Efficient Cars From 1975 to Today
When shopping for a new car, what is the most important factor you look for? According to Statista, it’s not design, quality, or even safety—it’s fuel efficiency.
Because of this, automakers are always looking for clever ways to improve gas mileage in their cars. Beating the competition by even the slimmest of margins can give valuable bragging rights within a segment.
In this infographic, we’ve used data from the EPA’s 2022 Automotive Trends Report to list off the most fuel efficient cars from 1975 to today.
Editor’s note: This is from a U.S. government agency, so the data shown skews towards cars sold in North America.
Data Overview
All of the information in the above infographic is listed in the table below. Data was only available in 5-year increments up until 2005, after which it switches to annual.
Model Year | Make | Model | Real World Fuel Economy (mpg) | Engine Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1975 | Honda | Civic | 28.3 | Gas |
1980 | VW | Rabbit | 40.3 | Diesel |
1985 | Chevrolet | Sprint | 49.6 | Gas |
1990 | Geo | Metro | 53.4 | Gas |
1995 | Honda | Civic | 47.3 | Gas |
2000 | Honda | Insight | 57.4 | Hybrid |
2005 | Honda | Insight | 53.3 | Hybrid |
2006 | Honda | Insight | 53 | Hybrid |
2007 | Toyota | Prius | 46.2 | Hybrid |
2008 | Toyota | Prius | 46.2 | Hybrid |
2009 | Toyota | Prius | 46.2 | Hybrid |
2010 | Honda | FCX | 60.2 | FCEV |
2011 | BMW | Active E | 100.6 | EV |
2012 | Mitsubishi | i-MiEV | 109 | EV |
2013 | Toyota | iQ EV | 117 | EV |
2014 | BMW | i3 | 121.3 | EV |
2015 | BMW | i3 | 121.3 | EV |
2016 | BMW | i3 | 121.3 | EV |
2017 | Hyundai | Ioniq Electric | 132.6 | EV |
2018 | Hyundai | Ioniq Electric | 132.6 | EV |
2019 | Hyundai | Ioniq Electric | 132.6 | EV |
2020 | Tesla | 3 | 138.6 | EV |
2021 | Tesla | 3 | 139.1 | EV |
From this dataset, we can identify three distinct approaches to maximizing fuel efficiency.
Downsizing
Prior to 2000, the best way for automakers to achieve good fuel efficiency was by downsizing. Making cars smaller (lighter) meant they could also be fitted with very small engines.
For example, the 1985 Chevrolet Sprint was rated at 49.6 MPG, but had a sluggish 0-60 time of 15 seconds.
Hybrids
The 2000s saw the introduction of mass-market hybrid vehicles like the Honda Insight and Toyota Prius. By including a small battery to support the combustion engine, automakers could achieve good MPGs without sacrificing so heavily on size.
While the Insight achieved better fuel economy than the Prius, it was the latter that became synonymous with the term “hybrid”. This was largely due to the Prius’ more practical 4-door design.
The following table compares annual U.S. sales figures for both models. Insight sales have fluctuated drastically because Honda has produced the model in several short spans (1999-2006, 2009-2014, 2018-2022).
Year | Insight Sales | Prius Sales |
---|---|---|
2005 | 666 | 107,155 |
2006 | 722 | 106,971 |
2007 | 3 | 181,221 |
2008 | - | 158,884 |
2009 | 20,572 | 150,831 |
2010 | 20,962 | 140,928 |
2011 | 15,549 | 136,464 |
2012 | 6,619 | 236,655 |
2013 | 4,802 | 234,228 |
2014 | 3,965 | 207,372 |
2015 | 1,458 | 184,794 |
2016 | 67 | 136,629 |
2017 | 3 | 108,661 |
2018 | 12,513 | 87,590 |
2019 | 23,686 | 69,718 |
2020 | 15,932 | 43,525 |
2021 | 18,685 | 59,010 |
2022 | 7,628 | 33,352 |
Source: goodcarbadcar.net
The Prius may have dominated the hybrid market for a long time, but it too has run into troubles. Sales have been declining since 2014, even setting historic lows in recent years.
There are several reasons behind this trend, with one being a wider availability of hybrid models from other brands. We also can’t ignore the release of the Tesla Model 3, which began shipping to customers in 2017.
Electric Vehicles
We’re currently in the middle of a historic transition to electric vehicles. However, because EVs do not use fuel, the EPA had to develop a new system called MPGe (miles per gallon of gasoline-equivalent).
This new metric gives us the ability to compare the efficiency of EVs with traditional gas-powered cars. An underlying assumption of MPGe is that 33.7 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity is comparable to the energy content of a gallon of fuel.
The most fuel efficient car you can buy today is the 2023 Lucid Air, which achieves 140 MPGe. Close behind it is the 2023 Tesla Model 3 RWD, which is rated at 132 MPGe.
Check out this page to see the EPA’s top 10 most efficient vehicles for 2023.
-
Markets2 weeks ago
The Biggest Global Risks of 2023
-
Markets4 weeks ago
Top Heavy: Countries by Share of the Global Economy
-
Politics1 week ago
Visualizing the World’s Top 25 Fleets of Combat Tanks
-
Money4 weeks ago
U.S. Inflation: How Much Have Prices Increased?
-
Energy1 week ago
The Periodic Table of Commodity Returns (2013-2022)
-
Misc3 weeks ago
Infographic: The Longest Lasting Cars, in Miles
-
Politics1 week ago
Which Countries are the Most Polarized?
-
Markets3 weeks ago
The U.S. Stock Market: Best and Worst Performing Sectors in 2022