During pandemic-era lockdowns, companies were forced to find virtual alternatives to once-essential business trips. As video calls became standard, technology provided a reasonable stand in for face-to-face client meetings. The days of in-person client meetings may be waning, but employees are setting out on corporate trips for new reasons. The landscape of the American workforce is transforming with an increasing shift toward remote employment. Projections from Upwork indicate that by 2025, approximately 22% of the workforce, which amounts to 32.6 million Americans, will be working remotely.
- In a Buffer survey, over 70% of remote workers reported that their companies don’t cover these costs.
- Challenges related to communications, coordination and self-motivation may be factors in the decline.
Carbon emissions from their employees alone were reduced by almost 41,00 metric tons. If more companies encouraged remote working, there would be less cause to commute remote work statistics each day – this could potentially have a beneficial impact on the environment. Video meeting usage has increased by half since before the coronavirus pandemic.
18% of US Workers Work Remote Full-Time
Although remote work offers great flexibility to work wherever you want to, most people still choose to work from home, though where that home may vary dramatically. Having a dedicated space can be beneficial for productivity and offer fewer distractions. Currently, only a small share of the workforce in advanced economies—typically between 5 and 7 percent—regularly works from home. A shift to 15 to 20 percent of workers spending more time at home and less in the office could have profound impacts on urban economies. More people working remotely means fewer people commuting between home and work every day or traveling to different locations for work. This could have significant economic consequences, including on transportation, gasoline and auto sales, restaurants and retail in urban centers, demand for office real estate, and other consumption patterns.
Previous MGI research in the United States and Europe has shown a trend toward greater geographic concentration of work in megacities like London and New York and high-growth hubs, including Seattle and Amsterdam. These locales have attracted many of the same type of younger, highly educated workers who can best work remotely. It remains to be seen whether the shift to remote work slows that trend, or whether the most vibrant cities remain magnets for such people. The ability to work remotely also depends on the need to use specialized equipment.
Click here for Kate Lister’s U.S. Senate Testimony on Telework in Government
Even without having one of the high-pay remote jobs, remote workers still save money. Remote work statistics suggest that remote workers save from $2,000 up to $7,000 per year. Many remote workers report feeling lonely, but this consistent complaint in remote work statistics could be misleading. A Buffer survey found that 32% of remote workers consider their flexible schedule to be the most significant benefit of working from home.
In a given odd situation, allowing employees to work remotely can enhance the morale of the staff and maintain the workflow of the business. When the employees get the care and attention from the employer, the morale rises to the peak, and in return, the employee’s zeal to perform better for the company also increases. Remote work gives people more options for where they live, reducing the necessity to live near large metropolitan city centers to maximize career potential. And with companies allowing employees to work from home permanently, remote workers are taking advantage of their new location independence. Research shows that businesses lose $600 billion a year to workplace distractions.
Effect of remote working on productivity
Remote work introduces flexibility that can significantly enhance work-life balance. The software and IT sectors led as the top industries for remote work in 2023 (WEF, 2023).¹² Other industries that followed close behind include marketing, accounting and finance. As might be expected remote work is less common in traditional blue-collar areas and in the trades. The shift toward remote work has tangible effects on the workforce’s income distribution, housing markets, and broader economic indicators across city and state lines. Surprisingly, only 3% of responders were remote freelancers or solo businesses. Remote work benefits the worker, but there are also benefits of telecommuting for employers.
It has caused a shift in the global workforce, one to which corporations and employees will have to learn to adapt to. Working in an office day in and day out has been a complaint with employees for generations, and many people never want to go back to that lifestyle. Moreover, 94% of employees mention their productivity is the same or higher in a remote work environment. Another statistic supporting these trends is that 74% of workers admit they are less likely to leave a company if they can work remotely full-time.
This gives them the benefit of remote working while also allowing them time away from home. People have become accustomed to a new lifestyle, one where they can work on their own terms, from wherever they choose. This new way of working has left employers scrambling to catch up, investing in new tools and software to allow employees to work remotely. An analysis of pre-pandemic time use diaries by Sabrina Pabilonia and Victoria Vernon examined hours of child care by homeworking mothers and fathers.
Remote work seems to be more than a passing fad and is probably here to stay. As the population ages and younger generations become the bulk of the workforce, remote work options are expected to become a standard feature of employment, not a nice perk or benefit. The lack of a commute for remote work means that remote workers save approximately $2,000-$7,000 in costs. Reduced costs include food, car maintenance, gas, and non-car transportation (bus, train, etc.) [6].